THE BAD
For the Team Teal campaign, Saturday night proved a case of a thorn between four roses during the running of race five.
With four lady drivers engaged in the race all wearing the teal, as the field settled into order it was Narissa McMullen in front with Uncle Chan, Rollyarzzz to her outside for Chloe Butler, Misty Creek in the one-by-one for Lola Weidemann and Betterthan Popsy with Trista Dixon was racing three back on the pegline.
Opting for the trail and positioned behind the leader, Bomb Suit and driver Luke Whittaker were surrounded by teal.
Swinging for home, Uncle Chan was trying to fight off the challengers as Rollyarzzz and Misty Creek both fanned to the outside, while Whittaker aimed up to take the passing lane gap.
Exploding through the gap, Bomb Suit darted through to take the win by 1.7 metres with the four Team Teal runners the next four finishers across the line.
It may have been a miss for the Team Teal campaign, however another $1,200 was added to the total on the night with wins to Trista Dixon, Chloe Butler and Narissa McMullen.
Bomb Suit’s victory provided trainer Jason Carkeet with his second winner of the year from just 10 starters and his first metropolitan winner in over two years.
Carkeet's last winner ‘in-town’ coming with Our Memphis Mac in January 2020.
Despite spoiling the Teal party, it was both a good night and winning week for Whittaker, claiming a metro double after guiding Bonnie Prince Louis to victory earlier in the evening.
After initially settling the Ben Battle-trained pacer in the one-by-one trail, Whittaker sent the in-form five-year-old forward with 1100 metres to travel, taking control of the race over the last lap.
Securing a 28.6 second third quarter, Whittaker put the race out of reach for the chasing pack with a slick 26.9 second closing panel to record the ninth win of his career.
Finishing the week with a 50% winning strike-rate, Whittaker claimed four winners from eight drives, with wins aboard Shadow Minister on Thursday for Ron Sallis and Stormtide for Donny Smith on Friday.
THE WILDCARD
Buoyed by the recent announcements and prize money increases for trotters in Queensland, trainer Mark Rees has been able to secure a talented square gaiter from New Zealand.
Call Me Trouble, a seven-year-old son of Superfast Stuart, will arrive with Rees later this week after a deal was brokered to purchase the gelding.
“We were looking for a potential free-for-all pacer but had been unable to get the right one, and then this guy popped up,” Rees said.
“Russ (Russel Reimer - part-owner) went through his form and at his last start he ran fourth to Majestic Man in a Group race and two starts back was third in a Group 3 at Auckland coming from 10 metres.
“He looks to be good from the tapes which will give us plenty of options when he arrives.”
Call Me Trouble has won 12 races and over $130,000 in his career to date, a total that Rees and his stable clients will be hoping to build upon.
“With the increases to the big races in the winter for the trotters and then the Inter Dominion at the end of the year, we thought it would be worth a shot, he looks to have plenty of speed for a trotter which should suit him here,” Rees added.
The arrival of the gelding will boost the depth of Rees' team and fill the void of recently departed mare Okinawa Beach, who has been sold to North America.
Gwyneth P, who boasts a first-up win over Sure Thing Captain, claimed her second victory since crossing the Tasman for Rees at Redcliffe on Thursday, pulling clear for an effortless 18.9 metre win.
Meanwhile, Madrigal, who is undefeated in two runs since joining the Rees team, is preparing to come back into work after a brief spell following her latest win on January 5.
“I’m really excited by her and I’m hoping she will measure up to the better ones after her two wins," Rees said.