Catch up on the week's harness racing action in our weekly review, thanks to Darren Clayton.
THE GOOD
Young driver Lachie Manzelmann had a night to remember at Albion Park on Saturday night, steering home a quartet of winners, including a pair of features on the big card.
Manzelmann made the most of the inside running to send Kingdom Come - for trainer Richard Hutchinson - along the passing lane to claim victory in the 1Equine Trotters Feature, while it was an all the way win in the Queen of the Creek aboard the Ron Sallis-trained Delightful Reason.
The other winners came aboard the Jack Butler-trained Bettor Jiggle, while it was a double for the Sallis and Manzelmann combination with Bitcoin, a pacer owned by Lachie’s mum Stacey.
Bitcoin was the duo's other winner, when leading throughout to claim the opening event on the card.
Bitcoin was back in winning form, sent straight to the front in race one and after Lachie was able to pinch a 31 panel through the second stanza, always looked the one to beat, going on to claim his eighth victory under the guidance of Sallis, seven of those when driven by Manzelmann.
“I was most confident about the chances of Bitcoin of all my drives, it really looked his chance to bounce back to winning form,” he said.
“He has been hanging a bit and I thought if I could stay in front of Brenno (Brendan Barnes driving Pacific Drums) that would go along way to winning that race."
Kingdom Come was the second winner for the night, darting through to claim victory, with all five Queensland victories for the veteran square gaiter coming when driven by Manzelmann.
“He is a cool old horse and one of those horses that wins when no one expects it, but I didn’t think his runs have been that bad of late,” Manzelmann said.
“His biggest problem, for whatever reason he just doesn’t go if he is not on the fence, so all I had to do was find the fence and hope for some luck.
“But, it all worked out for him, it was a quick lead time and there was pressure on and then when it was time to finish it off, all the horses in front went to the outside and he didn’t even have to go around any of them”.
Bettor Jiggle took out the Pelican Waters Qualifying Pace, defeating stable-mate and favourite Soextra, going to the line untouched.
Finding the pegs early, Manzelmann allowed Soextra to take control soon after, biding his time as the leader set a genuine tempo.
Running the quarters in 28.8, 29.9 and 28.4, as they swung for home it was a two-horse race with Bettor Jiggle angling to the outside and easing past the leader to take a three-metre victory, while the third placed Docta Feelgood was a further 21 metres away.
Completing the quartet in the Queen of the Creek, Manzelmann was again dictating in front with the Sallis owned and trained mare, rating Delightful Reason perfectly with a steady 3.5 lead time followed by a 28.1 opening quarter and then pinching a 31.2 second split.
Holding all the aces thereafter, Delightful Reason was eased down to the wire in claiming a five-metre margin over Oaxacan Dream.
“I was not confident before the race but once she was left alone in front, I really felt that I could make them pay,” Lachie said.
“It was not overly strong for a mare’s feature, but that doesn’t matter, she has got her own feature now and deserves to at least win a better race.”
On a night where the industry came together for the Brett Cargill fund-raiser, all horses wearing the number four saddle cloth were represented by that driver wearing Cargill’s racing silks, Delightful Reason the only winner of the night
With 65 winners for the season, the past month has been a successful run for Manzelmann, Saturday’s quartet following on from a double the previous Saturday night.
The successful night did come at a cost for Manzelmann, copping a fourteen-day suspension out of the 1Equine Trotting feature for breaching the whip use guidelines.