Aussie News - 24th August

By Adam Hamilton

THEY will be coming for Tornado Valley’s crown after his below par return at Bendigo on Saturday.

Yes he was first-up and had to do the work outside the leader, but the mighty trotter didn’t show his customary fight and tired late to finish 14m away in sixth spot behind the emerging Imsettogo.

It’s only the second time Tornado Valley has missed a place since finishing sixth at Melton a year ago.

Just when it seemed Wobelee, the trotter many think is Tornado Valley’s heir apparent in Australia, was going to win, Imsettogo ripped home along the sprint lane to win easily.

The four-year-old Used To Me mare is part of the Yabby Dams/Anton Golino team, who also had star mare Dance Craze in the race.

Dance Craze galloped soon after the start first-up from a spell and her effort to catch the field then storm home for a close fourth was remarkable.

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SUPERSTAR Kiwi filly Amazing Dream was beaten but smashed the clock at her Aussie debut.

It was never going to be easy against older rivals from outside the back row over 1660m, but she gave away too big a start to the talented leader Uncle Jord and couldn’t quite reel him.

Uncle Jord blazed a 1min52.7sec mile rate and ripped home in 55.3 and 27.8sec, while Amazing Dream came from at least 15-20m off the lead and went four and five-deep around the final bend, She got within a half-neck.

Amazing Dream was clocked to run her last half in 54.4 off the track.

“He was on song tonight, but you never quite know what you’re going to get with him,” Uncle Jord’s trainer Chris Frisby said. “It’s a pretty big effort because you’d don’t expect to have to beat a filly as good as Amazing Dream at this time of year.” 

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NSW’s best mare Bettor Enforce showed her versatility snatching a last-stride Group 3 win at Menangle last night.

In contrast to her trademark front-of-the-field racing style, driver Luke McCarthy took her back off the gate and was third-last, giving the leaders a huge start rounding the final bend.

Bettor Enforce had to come four-wide herself and stormed home to nab a half-head win over Make Mine Heaven in a 1min51.4sec mile.

Connections are keen on a WA raid for their feature mares’ races towards the end of the year.

The former Kiwi mare has enjoyed a fantastic season with 21 starts netting 10 wins, eight placings and more than $200,000 in earnings.

On the same card, it was great to see Victoria and NSW Derby placegetter Perfect Stride return to winning form after a let-up.

In a small but select field, Perfect Stride scored by 5.3m in a 1min51.7sec mile, beating talented former Kiwi Mach Da Vinci by 5.3m with another half-a-metre away to Victoria Oaks winner Dr Susan in third spot at her first-up run.

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THE jury is no longer out on exciting former Kiwi pacer Patronus Star.

The Team Bond recruit set tongues wagging with his sparkling WA Derby win earlier this season, but his four wins this campaign had left many wondering just where he was at. 

He showed everyone with a powerhouse win despite doing all the work against a good field in the $50,000 Group 2 The Binshaw at Gloucester Park last night.

Patronus Star drew wide in gate seven, worked early to find the breeze and treated his rivals with contempt by zooming to the front rounding the last bend and winning easily.

Patronus Star, still a three-year-old taking on older rivals, zipped home in 56.1 and 27.6sec for a 1min56.4sec mile rate over 2130m.

He’s now seven-from-seven since joining Team Bond from NZ.

One race earlier, Team Bond’s classy veteran Galactic Star made the most of a monstrous drop back in grade to cruise to a 9.7m win.

Having just his second run back from a spell, the rising eight-year-old worked to the front and zipped home in 56 flat and 27.5sec without being extended by driver Ryan Warwick.

Galactic Star, who has finished fifth and sixth in two Inter Dominion finals, took his record to 27 wins and 26 placings from 79 starts and earnings of almost $540,000 

Such is the depth in Team Bond, he may now only be their fourth or fifth stringer with the likes of Mighty Conqueror and Vampiro leading and even Patronus Star the way.

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THERE is plenty of excitement in Perth with news high-class Kiwi mare Wainui Creek is poised to join the powerhouse Team Bond stable.

As good as she is, it won’t be easy with Perth boasting a strong batch of mares and other Aussies, headed by the flying Bettor Enforce, being set for the major mares’ races later this year.

Alta Christiano four-year-old Fake News has improved so markedly this campaign she will be hard to beat in anything for Gary Hall Sr.

Her performance last Friday night was extraordinary after engaging in an early burn for the lead, sitting parked, having the favourite and high-class Our Alfie Romeo camped on her back and still winning.

She did absolutely all the work and kept finding for driver Stuey McDonald and held-off Our Alfie Romeo to win by 1.1m in a 1min55.5sec mile rate for 2130m.

Fake News finished fifth as an outsider in last year’s WA Oaks, but has just kept maturing and notched seven wins and three seconds from 16 runs this term.

Another winner of note on the night was the regally-bred Bletchley Park for trainer Stephen Reed and driver Dylan Egerton-Green.

The half-brother to Bling It On and Baby Bling stormed home to win the free-for-all with a performance that indicated he could be a smokey for the Fremantle and WA Pacing Cups late this year.

Reed, son of leading trainer Mike, only trains a few as a hobby and was sent Bletchley Park a few months back by his father and owner Albert Walmsley.

Reed almost did the unthinkable when he nursed Lovers Delight back from injuries to beat all but Lennytheshark in the 2015 Perth Inter Dominion final.

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THIS juvenile season has been thrown into chaos by COVID-19.

But a little upside emerged at an otherwise obscure Penrith meeting when a couple of very exciting two-year-olds strutted their stuff and looked major players for the upcoming NSW Breeders Challenge.

First out was David Thorn’s Bettors Delight filly Anntonia resumed with an impressive win at her first outing since finishing second in the Group 1 Bathurst Gold Tiara final on March 28.

She’s had four runs for two wins and two seconds and showed a terrific of speed and strength in a 1min58.5sec mile rate for 1720m around the slow-ish Penrith track.

Just 30 minutes later, Brad Hewitt’s buzz filly Arma Renegade, a daughter of the exciting Captaintreacherous, made it two wins from as many runs.

She won on debut at Bathurst in March by 23m and, despite doing her share of work early against older rivals, she zoomed clear under her own steam to win by 18.4m at Penrith in a 1min58.6sec mile rate for 2125m.

Arma Renegade looks a very serious filly.