Michael Howard
Big early strides were taken towards a super spring of Victorian pacing, with Supreme Dominator landing the first blow as heavyweights battled at Cranbourne.
Max Delight launched his Victoria Cup defence and Bondi Lockdown also re-emerged from a spell in Saturday night’s Decron Preux Chevalier Free For All, but it was trainer Joe Pace’s six-year-old who resumed his success at Cranbourne with a nigh on all-the-way win.
The October 9 Victoria Cup and Victorian Inter Dominion, which kicks off on November 26, loom large and the Cranbourne Cup winner made a statement in the hands of reinsman James Herbertson.
“It worked out well,” he told TrotsVision. “(We were) able to find the front without doing too much work.
“Honestly, Joe (Pace) was a bit sceptical (on leading). He was wanting me to take a sit on him and was worried he’d get beat leading, but at the end of the day many good horsemen have said that good horses should be able to lead and I believe he is a very good horse.”
And in that mindset Herbertson resisted when a confident Aaron Dunn applied mid-race pressure on Bondi Lockdown to Supreme Dominator’s outside, holding him in even quarters and then bristling with a 27.3-second third quarter.
Supreme Dominator then found a length at the turn and while Bondi Lockdown rallied impressively and Max Delight ran on well into second, Herbertson was always comfortable at the head of affairs.
“He switched off a little bit half-way down the straight, just waited for them a little bit, but at the end of the day he held them quite comfortably and still had a little bit left,” he said.
And, most notably, Herbertson said the best was certainly yet to come for Supreme Dominator.
“He’s nowhere near 100 per cent like when he did win the Cranbourne Cup here, he’s probably sitting around 85-90, there’s still quite a bit of improvement there and I’m sure you’ll see that, if it’s not in the next few weeks it will be towards the end of the year he’ll be at his best.”
Good things are also clearly in the path of ownership groups Summit Bloodstock and Aaron Bain Racing, who were rewarded for their investments into pacing fillies and mares with a race-to-race double.
First three-year-old filly Soho Historia continued her exceptional run for trainer Emma Stewart, adding the Janine Stewart Memorial Pace to her list of five successive victories that have extended a remarkable run of form in her new stable.
The past two of those have come in the hands of Connor Clarke, who brought up his 99th career win with the victory.
“She just switches off, a bit too much really when she gets to the front, but she just does what she needs to do and switches on at the right moments and really does it easy,” he said of Soho Historia.
“She’s only a three-year-old filly, she just seems to be getting better and better and stronger and stronger.”
Aaron Bain Racing and Summit Bloodstock then followed up with a further win with favourite Kusanova in the Dani Lewis Memorial Pace, with the leader pressed late but holding on for a 1.1-metre win.
The win was the second of a double for trainer Allan McDonough who also scored in the first with Blitzern.
The night’s headline trot was an eventful affair with Brandlo Prince keeping his feet while plenty around him broke stride and cruised away with a comfortable victory, the French-bred gelding’s first since September 2021.
Trained by Chris Svanosio, Brandlo Prince was having his first start in the hands of reinsman Anthony Crossland, who kept a clear head while leader Kyvalley Chief overraced out front.
“I could tell that Chris (Alford) was having a bit of trouble and his horse was overracing and I just had to rate my own race,” Crossland told TrotsVision. “He felt super, when he straightened he kicked and I think he still had a kick to go.”
Brandlo Prince won by 11.8 metres from Whos The Man with Well Defined third. Renowned types Big Jack Hammer, Kyvalley Chief, Powderkeg and McLovin all broke stride throughout the course of the race.
Kate Gath, who steered McLovin, said pre-race retirement may be knocking on the door for the brilliant, tough trotter and Saturday night’s miss-step likely did little to change that opinion.
Kate and Andy Gath enjoyed a better result in the Blue Hills Rise Pace, with Yambukian dominant and winning comfortably, a second win from three starts for the four-year-old since he returned from an almost seven-month lay-off.
Having broken through for her first metro winner last week there was more success for 17-year-old reinswoman Abby Sanderson and this one may have been even sweeter.
Steering Ozzie Playboy for Julie Douglas, Abby Sanderson sat quietly on the leader’s back and then rattled to the line to win by a half-neck from Cobber, who was driven by her brother Ryan.
“I went over the line and I said, ‘gotcha’,” a delighted Sanderson told TrotsVision. “(Ozzie Playboy’s) always given a nice feel and he has always shown ability. He had a beautiful run in behind and I was able to ease him out and get there on the line.”
Sassyola also scored a narrow win Saturday night courtesy of a late sprint, getting up for Dianne Giles and Jackie Barker via the sprint lane, while Lady In The Sky capped the night with a win for Sonya Smith and Anthony Butt.
The favourite won the Mark Gurry & Associates Trot after working in the run and then capitalising late when leader Scootin Around make a mistake in the straight.
July has three more Saturday night’s of metropolitan racing going to the regions, with next week the spotlight turning on to Ballarat for the John Slack Memorial Trotters Cup.
