Green enjoys near perfect day at Invercargill

By Jonny Turner

With four wins, three placings and a quinella with her seven starters at Ascot Park, Kirstin Green's team will head to New Zealand Cup week in the best possible form.

Green produced an outstanding display of training and driving just a matter of days out from New Zealand harness racing's biggest week of the year.

The results now have the trainer-driver itching to get to Christchurch to test her horses in premier company.

"I'm really looking forward to actually getting some of these ones up the road,” Green said.

"I think they'll suit the speed of the racing and the Addington track."

Green's winning run began with the win of Frosty Girl in race 1.

After an unlucky last start third, Green made sure the filly was out of trouble when leading throughout to score for breeder-owner Bill Keeler.

"Bill's been such a great friend to me over the years, and we've had some lovely horses together,” Green said.

"He's just a book of knowledge – and quirky knowledge."

"You'll say, 'Oh, I'm having trouble with something,' and he'll pull out some random thing to do with it, and nine times out of ten it'll work."

Betting Sensation worked at both ends of her win in race 3 for driver Blair Orange.

But she held enough in reserve to hold off the late challenge of her stablemate, Carrera Sunset.

"She's just come back in so well,” Green said.

"You look at her form line, and you think it wasn't great last time in."

"But she had a lot of bad luck."

"She was bolting in the (Southland) Oak and locked wheels, and then she drew bad, and then she got crook."

"So, there was a lot of merit in a lot of her runs last year."

Darin continued his racetrack redemption when taking out race 4 for Green.

The pacer didn't show much spark in his trials leading into his debut, but he has been faultless in five starts at the races.

"I don't think he finished in the first three in any of his workouts leading into his first start."

"We took him to his first start just hoping that race day would spark him up, and it did."

"Since then, he's never missed a cheque."

Green sealed her fourth victory at Ascot Park when Sally Lindenny stepped up in grade to beat opponents rated higher than her in race 8.

The trotter was purchased by stable supporter Murray Swain, and since joining Green's barn, she's gone from strength to strength.

"Murray was going to put her in foal, but I don't know if he is now."

"She has well and truly paid for her service fee anyway."

"Murray's done a great job of getting her trotting so well."

Wattlebank Arnie ran an excellent second in yesterday's feature pace, with He's A Meister fighting on gamely for third in the same race, rounding out a nearly perfect run for the Green stable.