Queensland Harness Racing Wrap - April 17

Catch up on the week's harness racing action in our weekly review, thanks to Darren Clayton.

THE GOOD

Team Raboki picked up two of the APG Features on Saturday night at Albion Park, with the win of Speak The Truth one of the most impressive first-up performances seen at The Creek in some time.

Annexing the Fillies Two Year Old Fillies Gold Bullion and the Four Year Old Mixed Sex Bullion Finals with their runners, the Shannon Price and Scott Miller-led stable currently has a 24 per cent winning strike rate this season from their 12 winners.

More Sass remained undefeated when the filly was too classy for her two-year-old rivals, leading throughout in the $50,000 feature and take her record to a perfect three from three.

Driven by Adam Sanderson, the daughter of Sweet Lou which was also bred by Raboki, was allowed to balance up soon after the start before being sent forward to take control with 1200 metres left to travel.

Securing a comfortable 61.4 second middle half, the filly was never tested in claiming a 4.5 metre winning margin over the fast finishing Soap Opera for Darren Weeks and Kylie Rasmussen, with Milliewood for Wayne and Shane Graham finding a late split to grab 3^rd.

The 1.57.8 winning rate for More Sass was 0.1 outside her best which she took when winning a heat of the Series 11 days earlier.

Passed in when failing to meet the $50,000 reserve placed on the filly from the 2022 APG Gold Coast Sale, the option to retain the filly is looking promising, with her unbeaten record sitting alongside $41,000 in earnings to date.

As classy as More Sass was in winning, the effort of Speak The Truth to win first up from a spell was breathtaking.

Drawn gate 7 for the $35,000 feature, the gelded son of super sire Bettors Delight was having his first race start since May 28, 2022.

Forced off the scene last year right as his three-year-old season was on an upward trajectory, the stylish black gelding had been to the trials twice in readiness for the latest campaign.

Three-wide through the first 400 metres of the race, Adam Sanderson was able to get outside the leader, My Ultimate Levi, as the field turned into the home straight with 1200 metres left to pace.

With Amami looking to make a challenge for the position outside the leader, Sanderson signalled his intentions and content to race parked, the pace quickened and Speak The Truth began to eyeball the leader, forcing his way to the front at the 800.

With the first two quarters run in 27.5 and 28.7, Sanderson then kept the tempo solid with a 27.9 third split as Tims A Trooper moved up to issue a challenge.

Swinging for home, Tims A Trooper had peaked on his run, while early leader My Ultimate Levi continued to chase, but all honours were with Speak The Truth, finishing it off in 27.9 to stop the clock in 1.51.9.

With Raboki holding barrier 10 in The Hayden, Speak The Truth has put out a big statement to his rivals ahead of the Constellations Carnival.

THE BAD

The winner of seven races before arriving in Queensland with trainer Mark Dux, an 8^th win has proven elusive for the nine-year-old gelding Yankee C J.

Last tasting victory at Horsham when trained by Marg Lee in Jun 16, 2019, the gelding had five more starts for Lee, four of those in 2019.

Spending over 12 months on the sidelines, the Yankee C J had one more start for Lee in January 2021 before being purchased by Riverina-based couple Reece Maguire and fiancé Madi Dux, daughter of Mark.

Maguire prepared Yankee C J for nine unplaced starts between March 2021 and January 2022, ultimately deciding to send the gelding north to the Mark Dux stable.

Making his first Queensland appearance at Redcliffe on April 20, 2022, Yankee C J was unplaced, finishing in seventh position.

Placed on eight occasions in his next 24 starts, connections would be forgiven for questioning if there was another win left in the gelding.

However, the patience was justified at Albion Park last Tuesday when the son of American Ideal darted through along the passing lane under the urgings of driver Angus Garrard to claim victory.

Nine days shy of 12 months in the Dux stable, Yankee C J made it career win number eight and broke the drought that had extended 1,395 days.

The win also gave Yankee C J a career best winning rate of 1.55.5 to extend his record to 74: 8-10-10 and earnings just shy of $50,000.

THE WILDCARD

It was a fill up for connections of QBRED sustained pacers and trotters last week, with the scheme continuing to show why it is the best in the country.

The first race of the day at Albion Park on Tuesday afternoon got the ball rolling when Rock With Nate claimed the two-year-old maiden pace and picked up the $14,000 QBRED first win bonus for connections.

Bred by Lindsay and Mary Vagg, the gelding is trained by Jack Butler and is the fifth foal of the dam Mardys Victree to make it to the races.

All five are winners, with Butler having prepared three of them - Rock With Sam, Rock With Zara and Rock With Nate.

Gleneagle Reign picked up the $7,500 QBRED second win bonus when the three-year-old trotter claimed his first win of the season for trainer/driver Shane Graham and owner Graeme Harris.

Wednesday night saw three bonuses paid out, two of those claimed by horses trained by Graham Dwyer and driven by Brendan Barnes.

Three-year-old filly Ima Midnight Rebel finally found the conditions to break her maiden status, securing the bonus with a victory at career start 23, while one race later, Rockin With Chika who was having just her second race start was able to lead throughout.

Three One Four picked up a second win bonus with the Jack Butler-trained four-year-old mare winning the second race of her career and building on a successful combination that Butler and Nathan Dawson have developed in the past month.

Thursday saw Jack Butler make it three days in succession that one of his winners claimed a QBRED bonus, this time when stable newcomer King Of Kaos secured his second career win.

Certainlycallitin put an end to a string of bad barriers to lead all the way from gate 1 and pick up his second bonus for connections and trainer John McMullen.

Hold Onto Ya Bling was perhaps the most impressive of the bonus winners for the week when the Shannon Price-trained three-year-old won his first race of the season and fourth of his career to secure the second win bonus.

The week was wrapped up with a first win bonus and a pair of QBRED cash bonus payments won at Kilcoy on Sunday afternoon.

Chakana for trainer Ricky Gordon secured her connections the $14,000 first win bonus when the daughter of Changeover broke through for victory in the first race of the day.

Bustaballon and Sammys Secret picked up the extra $1,000 QBRED cash bonus for their connections with victories in their respective races.

THE MILESTONE

Crossing the Tasman over a decade ago to further his harness racing career, Adam Sanderson arrived in Queensland and took his first drive in the 2010/11 Season.

From 20 drives in that initial season, Sanderson was able to record three wins, but spent the majority of 2010/11 and 11/12 Seasons back in his homeland before making the move permanent.

Fast forward to April 11, 2023 a combination with another former Kiwi, trainer Tim Butt, Sanderson claimed an effortless win aboard the three-year-old filly Born To Write at Albion Park.

That win was the 1000^th driving success for Sanderson in Australia, adding to the 67 winners that he had driven in New Zealand.

In his first full Queensland Season that started in September 2012, it was a breakout year for the Kiwi reinsman where he would go on to record 87 wins from 480 drives.

Sanderson has been a consistent performer in every season since, with the 82 winners he was able to claim in the 2016/17 Season, the lowest winning number he has been able to secure, while the extended season of 2019/20 the benchmark when he was able to reach 149 wins.

Currently on track for a century season, sitting on 40 wins at a 20 per cent strike rate, Sanderson has secured three previous century seasons in his career.

With eight Group victories to his name, Sanderson also managed to annex a Group 1 victory when steering Wee Man Trouble to victory in the 2019 Darrel Alexander Memorial Trot.

While Sanderson may be a proud New Zealander, he has also represented Queensland in the 2018 Australian Driving Championships, where he claimed a heat victory, aboard Ozzie Bogan.

THIS WEEK

Five race meetings are scheduled in the week ahead, with three from Albion Park and two from Redcliffe.

Ten races are programmed on Tuesday afternoon from The Creek, before a Friday night fixture and the Saturday metropolitan meeting.

Wednesday night at Redcliffe will see the first of the 2023 Trot Rods races held.

Once again this year, the first two races on the card every Wednesday night for five weeks will be conducted under the 947 metre flying format, before the big final night on May 24.