Promising 3YO trotter The Penny Drops made it two-in-a-row at Bray Raceway, Ballarat with an all the way victory in a $7000 standing start contest last Friday night.
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The gelded son of colonial stallion Danny Douchea was driven by Neil McCallum for trainer Stawell Ray Harvey and part-owners Moira Hateley and the Pickering family.
The Penny Drops began smartly from its 10-metre handicap and quickly found the lead in a small field of six runners. McCallum gave his charge an easy time through the first half of the 2200-metre journey before steadily building the tempo to finish with solid closing quarters in 30.4, 29.9 and 30.1 seconds and a 15-metre victory.
A win anywhere is always a an enormous thrill for the owners, but it's even more special when they have been with the horse since day one. The Pickerings, Hateley and Harvey bred The Penny Drops from the Classic Adam US broodmare Chillly Pepperell, which made only one appearance at the races, beaten in a 2YO trot at Maryborough in June 2007.
The Penny Drops should give his connections more joy as it builds on three starts for two wins and a third.
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Smart Great Western-trained pacer Motu Meteor returned to the track after a six-month break to score by a narrow margin at Melton on Saturday night.
The 5YO gelding led out from the pole and was given an easy time by driver Kerryn Manning during the first half of the 1720-metre sprint trip. Manning raised the bar over the final half-mile, with splits in 28.5 and 27.2 seconds, and held off a late challenge from Winkanditsover, which had enjoyed a soft trip on the back of the leader througout.
“He’s tough and he can run speed,” Manning said.
Motu Meteor's victory took his record to an impressive 35 starts for 13 wins, 15 minor placings and $241,555 in stakes for owners Merv and Meg Butterworth.
The talented pacer will contest the fifth event at Melton tomorrow night, the $18,000 Easi Feed Three-Free For All over 2240 metres.
Motu Meteor faces a much tougher field than last week, but will climb up the Inter Dom rankings if he again salutes.
-Cody Winnell HRV
THEY’RE OFF
At Stawell (D) Sunday; Swan Hill (N) Cup Meeting, Friday October 19; Ararat (N) Tuesday 23; Hamilton (D) Monday 29; Terang (N) The O'Keeffe, Monday, November 5.
WIMMERA WALLY
Last return: $20 @ Murtoa races
Balance: $767.00
Best bet: R 1 No 8 Im Sir Bake $6 win
Value bet: R 9 No 2 Wanted Lady $3 eachway
Multi bet: Box quinella R 6 MNos 1,3,6,8,10 spend $8
