A brilliant line-up of some of the nation’s best trotters are engaged for the 2010 Uncle Petrika FFA including Australia’s favourite squaregaiter Sundons Gift.

The talented Sundon gelding has drawn way back and out on Friday night in barrier 12. Coming off a brilliant succession of victories, the seemingly unstoppable Chris Lang-trained champion will again have Lang behind the reins as he attempts his 32^nd career victory.

Despite drawing awkwardly dual Inter Dominion champion Sundons Gift will start as the favourite

Despite the awkward draw, the dual Inter Dominion champion will still start as the odds-on favourite fresh up from a short spell.

Lang will also be represented by Earl gelding Kyvalley Mac drawn better in barrier five.

The level of competition Sundons Gift will face in the event is elite with two of his biggest threats drawn either side of him also in the backrow, Thepowerofhealing in barrier 11 and Ronerail in 13.

Ronerail recently ran a gallant second to Red Samurai in the Group 3 Bruce Skeggs Trotters Cup, showing he could come from the back of the pack to challenge the winner.

Other classy contenders looking to secure the win on Friday night include Lance Justice’s duo Beleva drawn ideally in barrier one, and Earl Of Mot, who Justice will drive, also drawn well in four.

Punters and trotting fans can catch all the action of the 2010 Renown Silverware Uncle Petrika Trotters Free-For-All at 10:12pm when it runs as race eight on the night’s bumper nine-event card.

The programme also includes a number of great features for the pacers with the running of the $20,000 Mittys Youthful Stakes, heats of the Nevele R Stud Victoria Oaks and the $20,000 SEW-Eurodrive Sokyola Sprint featuring a the likes of Smoken Up and stablemate Our Malabar.

2010 Uncle Petrika Trotters FFA Final Field & Barrier Draw:

Red Samurai ($17.90) beat home Ronerail ($4.90) by 3.4m with Armed Guard ($5.60) just over 1.5m back in third.

Acacia Ridge, who started the race as the warm $2.70 favourite, started well but had a disappointing finish coming in last. The Gary Hoban-trained gelding will be stood down for two weeks following a vets’ examination after the race.

In the final lap as they turned out of the straight Red Samurai sat dead last with 800m left to travel. Dream A Moment was the leader at the bell a head in front of Acacia Ridge.

On the back straight with 400m to go the field bunched closer together ready for the final sprint.

Dream A Moment and Acacia Ridge still held the lead, but Ronerail came from the back of the pack to race out three wide and move up quickly towards the front.

Into the final straight Ronerail loomed up and got their head in front of Acacia Ridge, but Red Samurai, who until the final 200m was sitting at the tail end of the field, began to accelerate chasing the lead.

Red Samurai came from dead last to claim victory in a thrilling final few meters

Acacia Ridge faded in the closing stages and broke half way up the straight, as Red Samurai came from last to claim victory ahead of Ronerail with Armed Guard holding on for third.

A son of boom sire Sundon, Red Samurai has now claimed victory in 18 of his 85 career starts for prizemoney of over $122, 000.

2010 Bruce Skeggs Trotters Cup Results:

Eight quality squaregaiters are engaged in the 2575m standing start event including last start winner Armed Guard.

Due to be driven by Christopher Shinn, the Monarchy gelding has drawn ideally with barrier one for Sunday.

Drawn on the direct outside of Armed Guard in barrier two is the Daryl Woolcock-trained Pepperell Dancer, competing in the Bruce Skeggs Trotters Cup for his third consecutive year. In 2008 the son of A Go Go Lauxmont claimed victory in the event before placing a gallant second to Just Glorious the next year.

Pepperell Dancer is competing in his third consecutive Bruce Skeggs Trotters Cup

Talented runners Ronerail and Gary Hoban’s Acacia Ridge, coming off a gallant last start fourth in the Group 3 Maori’s Idol Memorial behind Sundons Gift, will start from a 20m and 30m handicap respectively, but are still two of the highest rated chances in the Bruce Skeggs Trotters Cup.

Legendary horseman Lance Justice has his veteran Earl gelding Earl Of Mot starting from barrier five while the Clinton Welsh-trained and driven Red Samurai is in barrier four.

The 2010 Bruce Skeggs Trotters Cup is scheduled as race seven, the closing race at Cranbourne on Sunday, and is due to jump at 4:50pm.

2010 Bruce Skeggs Trotters Cup Final Field & Barrier Draw

The 2010 Sunnyfield Trotters Mile has attracted a star-studded field of 11 horses highlighted by Chris Lang’s brilliant Inter Dominion Trotting Champion Sundons Gift.

Lang will drive Sundons Gift on Sunday afternoon as the in-form trotter goes for his fourth successive race victory, which would be the 30^th of his impressive career.

The experienced and consistent Sundon gelding has drawn ideally in barrier three and will be the one to beat on Sunday.

A top class field of rivals will be out to stop Sundons Gift including Solar Active (br. 2), the Michael Marais-trained Cillas Earl (br.6), Ronerail (br.7), Peter Manning’s recent Terang Trotters Cup winner Joe Bro (br. 9) and Acacia Ridge starting on the far outside from barrier 11.

Another interesting Trotters Mile starter is the Darren Hancock trained and driven Misscshells in barrier two. The Sundon filly has had a substandard strike rate throughout her career winning only eight of her 51 starts but has improved tremendously in the last year and is coming off a string of impressive runs. Having secured the prized barrier one, Misscshells looks a decent chance for a place here at good odds.

The Group 1 Sunnyfield Trotters Mile is scheduled as race five on the afternoon’s dazzling ten event programme and is due to jump at 3:10pm.

2010 NSW Sunnyfield Trotters Mile Final Field & Barrier Draw:

Trained and driven by Chris Lang, last year’s winner Sundons Gift outclassed his rivals once again as the $1.60 favourite beat home shock second placegetter, Queensland-trained Kasyanov ($147) by an easy 9.5m with Lang’s other runner Skyvalley ($5.50) finishing off the trifecta a further 3.8m back.

Improving trotter Cillas Earl ($38) was a close fourth just ahead of Acacia Ridge ($18.70) in fifth.

Sundons Gift showed sensational speed from barrier one to take the lead early, running a first quarter of 29.7s. The third pre-race favourite, Gavin Lang’s Don King ($9.60) was in second place for the first quarter, but went to three wide by the middle before eventually tailing off to finish seventh.

After a 31.8s second quarter, Sundons Gift still held a 3m lead from Don King while eventual second-placegetter Kasyanov moved to the inside.

Running 28.9s over the third quarter Sundons Gift increased his lead on the final turn, running clear from the pack as Don King tiered, slipping back and making way for Kasyanov to move up to second place.

As the leader kept pulling away for a sensational win, his stablemate Skyvalley moved up to third on the outside.

The eight-year-old winning Sundon gelding clocked a smart mile rate of 2:01.0 in his 29^th victory from 57 career starts. The $142 500 in Saturday’s Inter Dominion winnings bought his overall career earnings to $789 673.

With the win Sundons Gift became only the second horse in history to secure back-to-back trotting Inter Dominion Championships, the first since New Zealand runner Pride Of Petite in 1996/1997, and the first Australian bred trotter to achieve the feat.

The victory may have been Sundons Gift’s second, but his trainer went one better as it was Lang’s third successive Inter Dominion win.

Runner-up Kasyanov also made history as the first Queensland trained trotter to not only make the Inter Dominion Grand Final, but place in the top three as well.

The $30 000 Group 2 Inter Dominion Trotting Championship Consolation (2575m) was the other major trotting event at the meeting, won by Ronerail ($2.40) 4.7m ahead of Earl Of Mot ($9.50) with Chris Lang’s Kyvalley Mac ($32.40) in third.

2010 Inter Dominion Trotting Championship Results:

The $1.50 favourite, five-year-old Skyvalley claimed an easy 5.5m victory ahead of stablemate Sundons Gift ($7.00), giving Nagambie-located trainer Chris Lang the quinella and his first win in the event, with Ronerail ($20.00) 1.9m back for third.

Sundons Gift, ridden by Lang on Friday night, has now had a minor placing in the last three successive Bill Collins Sprints – eighth in 2007, third in 2008 and then second this year.

Ridden by Chris Lang Jnr, the son of Muscles Yankee exploded from barrier three in a sensational display of speed, continuing on to break 30 seconds in every quarter, clocking a blistering 1:56.3 second win.

2009 Bill Collins Sprint Results:

Aiming at his third successive victory in the event is the Chris Lang-trained Sundons Gift. The eight-year-old veteran has drawn ideally with barrier three and looks a strong chance to make it a trotting Grand Prix hat-trick. Sundons Gift, the defending Inter Dominion trotting champion, will come up against in-form stablemate Skyvalley on Friday, who is aiming at his seventh consecutive victory. Four-year-old Skyvalley will start from barrier nine following the scratching of first emergency False Gem and it is certain to be an anticipated showdown between Lang’s two boom horses.

Previous Victoria Trotters Derby champion Springbank Richard also drew well and will have the inside running from barrier one. The Kiwi trotter is coming off a last start victory in the Dominion Handicap and will be tough to beat.

Also set to start in the front line are local stars Save A Sixpence (br. 2), Ronerail (br. 4) and last year’s Sky Channel Dullard Cup champion Viva La Fever (br. 7).

Another Kiwi visitor to watch is the up-and-coming squaregaiter In Pursuit (br. 11). The Michael Marias-trained son of Monarchy is a truly emerging talent looking to set himself up as the new trotting champion.

The SEW-Eurodrive Australian Trotting Grand Prix will run as race seven on the night’s nine race programme.

Other feature trotting races taking place around the country this weekend include the $15 000 Yarra Valley Trotters Cup in Victoria on Friday and the $10 000 Wedderburn Trotters Cup at Maryborough on Sunday.

2009 Group 1 Australian Trotting Grand Prix Final Field & Barrier Draw:

Eight-year-old gelding Will Trapper ($6.40) defeated Acacia Ridge ($8.20) by 3.4m with Kyvalley Mac ($17.30) coming in 8.5m from the winner in third.

Odds-on favourite starting the race at $3.10 Ronerail ran a very dismal seventh attracting a vet’s examination after the race.

Another disappointing run was the Chris Lang-trained Sundowns Gift, the returning Inter Dominion champion finishing eighth.

Will Trapper, by Keystone Salute out of Downsouth Soon, clocked a sharp 3:18.5 (mile rate 2:05:0) over the 2555m event, proving he is in the right form for the upcoming Aldebaran Park Stud Bill Collins Trotters Sprints, for which he is aiming at back-to-back victory.

2009 Majestic Son Cranbourne Trotters Cup Result:

Scratched:

SUNSET TRUSCOTT

The bay gelding by Monarchy (USA) out of Going Alone (NZ) driven by M. Marais scored a 2m victory ahead of runner-up Dream A Moment ($3.20) with the odds-on favourite starting the race, Ronerail ($3.00), coming in third some 8.2m from the winner. It was an impressive victory despite In Pursuit’s driver being fined, In Pursuit clocked a gross time of 3.38.8.

Runner-up Dream A Moment and K. Manning surrendered the lead early and were behind the leader and eventual winner In Pursuit by the bell. The emerging trotting star and early favourite for the race, Heyzeal, was a late scratching reducing the final field to nine trotters.

In Pursuit’s next race start will be this Friday night at Tabcorp Park Melton in the $12 000 Weirs St Arnaud Supa IGA Cup.

Group 3 Chris Howe Trotters Cup Results:

Scratchings:

HEYZEAL (LATE)

The $20 000 Chris Howe will be the Victorian trotter’s most challenging test to date as she aims to maintain her undefeated Australian record of three from three.

The Dean Braun-trained Heyzeal is coming from a tight but impressive win in the Goulburn Murray Credit Union Kilmore Trotters Cup on SEW Eurodrive Kilmore Cup Day, which bought her record to eight wins from 21 career starts. All of her victories have been by small margins, a slight concern for Braun who puts the marginal wins down to her tendency to pull last start whilst racing midfield, which is common to her breed.

Daughter of extraordinary sire Sundown, five-year-old Heyzeal is fast rising through the nation’s trotting ranks along with her champion driver Gavin Lang. Braun hopes to evolve the promising trotter from emerging start to top-flight runner.

Her competition will be stiff on Saturday night as she comes up against a quality field of trotters including the refreshed Ronerail returning from a short break, and the ever consistent In Pursuit.

The Chris Howe Trotters Cup is scheduled as the eighth race on the nine race program at Melton on Saturday night, moved from the traditional Friday night timeslot to correspond with the presentation of the annual Gordon Rothacker medal. The Gordon Rothacker medal will be awarded to an individual to acknowledge their exceptional and continual contribution to harness racing in Victoria.

Other notable races held on the night include the four heats of the Spring Championship.

Group 3 Chris Howe Trotters Cup Final Field:

Tabcorp Park Melton Race Programme – Saturday 14^th November: