ROSTEVARREN UPSETS KAHDON
Rostevarren utlised the sprint lane to catch $1.40 favourite Kahdon in the shadows of the post in the first $10,000 Seelite Windows & Doors Victoria Trotters Derby Heat at Bendigo on Saturday, July 3.
Kahdon was taken on for the lead early by Razor Face (Michael Marais), who later broke and finished last.
The Sundon filly made a good fist of leading virtually all of the way for trainer-driver Mark Jones and will improve with the race _ her first since winning the Victoria Trot Oaks on June 11.
However, Rostevarren , a gelded son of Band Of Chips (USA), timed his finish along the inner to a nicety for trainer-driver Ross Graham, grabbing the favourite late to win by a neck.
The winner rated 2:04.7 for the mobile 2650m, the leaders running their last 800m in 58.7s and final 400m in 28.9s.
Rostevarren, last season’s Vicbred Super Series 2YO Trot Final victor, is now the winner of 9 of 16 starts, including 6 from 8 this season.
He has a best winning mile rate of 2:00.3 (1720m) set when beating ex-Kiwi Tuhimata Glass by 5.1m in last month’s $A25,000 The Holmfield Trot at Tabcorp Park, Melton.
The second Victoria Trot Derby Heaat will be run at Geelong on Wednesday night and includes fellow NZ trotter Miami H, the runnerup to Kahdon in the Great Northern Trotters Derby in April.
Miami H will start from the four gate for co-trainer-driver Derek Balle. The heat also features former NZ 3YO’s Tuhimata Glass (gate 5) and Landoras Pearl (8, inside back row).
A 3rd heat of the series will be run next Saturday, with the $A75,000 Final to be run at Maryborough on July 18.
ALFORD NOTCHES 4000TH VICTORY
Chris Alford has won most of the biggest races on the Australian harness calendar, but his win aboard Mapua Legend in the Maffioso C1 Pace at the Bendigo fixture on Saturday night will forever be special.
The $5000 event saw the champion Bolinda reinsman join Gavin Lang as the only drivers in Australian harness history to partner 4000 winners.
Alford followed up a good night at Melton’s Tabcorp Park on Friday night, when he partnered three winners, to notch the milestone in the fifth race on the Bendigo card.
The 42-year-old used 25,033 drives to amass his 4000 winners, which consists of 3988 wins in Australia, nine in New Zealand and three in Germany during the 1997 World Drivers’ Championship.
He has also partnered 3331 Australian second placegetters and 3324 thirds for more than $27,000,000 in stakes.
His biggest victory came aboard Golden Reign in the 1995 Inter Dominion, on whom he also won that year’s Victoria Cup, while he has also won Hunter Cups with Paris Affair (1999), Mont Denver Gold (2002) and Sting Lika Bee (2007).
Alford also shares the record for the most Tabcorp Australasian Breeders Crown final wins of six with Lang, who has driven 4457 winners in total.
Courtesy of Brad Bishop, HRV Media Manager