Trifolium out to break maidens

By Joshua Smith, Harness News Desk

Andrew and Lyn Neal will just have the one runner at Cambridge Raceway on Thursday and it may just be enough to bring home a winner’s cheque.

The husband-and-wife team will line-up Trifolium in the Racebook Donations Supporting Team Teal Trot (2200m) and he looks to be a strong chance in the race after his three pleasing starts to date.

The Bacardi Lindy four-year-old placed on debut at the Waikato track before running fourth at Alexandra Park and then posting the same result at Cambridge Raceway last start.

Lyn Neal, who owns the gelding and has been in the bike in all three of his starts, has been pleased with his progress, particularly his last start effort.

“He is learning as he goes along,” she said.

“He has taken a bit of time. He is from a very slow maturing breed, but he is coming to it nicely now.

“I was happy enough with him last start. I thought he was going to run second, but he just came out and floated a little bit and I think if something had come on the outside of him he would have kicked on and got going a bit sooner. He got going late and hit the line running, so I think he has taken a lot from that race.”

Trifolium has drawn one on the front row on Thursday and Neal is hoping for a bold showing from the gelding who has been installed as a $3.20 favourite for the race by TAB bookmakers.

“It’s back to the stand. At Auckland he made a mistake but I think he will step well and I would expect him to be in the first three,” Neal said.

Meanwhile, the racing career of promising stablemate Alterior Motif looks to have come to an end.

The Sportswriter gelding won his first two starts at his home track and was the focus of plenty of interest from overseas buyers.

While he disappointed when finishing unplaced in his two runs during New Zealand Cup week at Addington, he was pleasing his trainers in his work before he sustained a career ending injury in January.

“Unfortunately Alterior Motif has bowed a tendon and he is unlikely to race again,” Neal said.

“The vets looked at it and we scanned it and did all the right things and they said there was nothing wrong with it. Then it went, it’s very disappointing.”

While the Neals are disappointed to lose such a promising pacer, they are looking forward to getting 11-win trotter Credit Master back to the track.

They believe they have finally got on top of a few mental issues he had been having and they were buoyed by his last-start fourth-placing in the Gr.3 Cambridge Flying Stakes (1700m).

“Credit Master has been back in for about three weeks, he is looking really good,” Neal said.

“The last race he had he only ran fourth, but Andrew (Neal) drove him conservatively because he hadn’t been keeping up. It’s probably the best he has got home. He really travelled in the run and got home great.

“Then there weren’t any more races so we thought we would give him a break while we can and he is ours so we can do what we need to do with him.

“He is probably never going to go with the elite, but he is still going to trot around Auckland and be competitive I am sure.”