Lenny Lights Up Victoria Cup

31 January 2016 | Chris Barsby
Logo
Ace; Champion reinsman Chris Alford claimed his second Victoria Cup with victory aboard Lennytheshark

Ace; Champion reinsman Chris Alford claimed his second Victoria Cup with victory aboard Lennytheshark

Champion reinsman Chris Alford delivered an inch perfect drive aboard star pacer Lennytheshark to win the Gr.1 $400,000 Good Form Victoria Cup at TABCORP Park, Melton tonight (Saturday).

Lennytheshark ($2 fav) defeated Kiwi raiders Smolda ($2.70) by a head margin while Mossdale Conner ($76.50) was a further 3m away in third in a time of 1:55.0.

The victory provided Alford with his second Victoria Cup triumph after scoring back in 1995 with Golden Reign while it was a first for trainer David Aiken.

With all pre-race discussions focused on who would lead the 2240m event, it was Alford and Lennytheshark who blasted out from his wide draw and challenged hard while Smolda and Mister Mundaka tried valiantly to lead.

But the recent Inter Dominion champion cleared going into the first turn while Smolda sat in the trail with Mister Mundaka left without cover early.

The lead time was covered in 43.4 seconds.

The first move in the race came from Messini who worked around three wide before parking outside the leader while Bling It On soon followed.

Alford quickly backed off the pressure and allowed Lennytheshark to gain a breather mid-race while his main danger and last start Ballarat Cup winner Smolda sat coiled on his back.

The first quarter on the final mile was covered in 30 seconds.

As the field reached the bell lap, Major Crocker commenced a three-wide run and was tracked up by Mossdale Conner and then My Hard Copy also joined the cover flow.

The second quarter was posted in 30.9 seconds.

Heading down the back straight on the final occasion, Alford continued to control the speed and allowed Lennytheshark to conserve as much energy as possible.

As the field headed off the back straight in a controlled third quarter of 28.9 seconds, Alford continued to dictate and quickly turned the event into a final quarter dash.

Lennytheshark straightened with a handy lead after shaking off the challenge from Bling It On while Smolda aimed for a run via the sprint lane with Mossdale Conner winding up wider on the track.

Under the urgings of Alford, Lennytheshark prevailed narrowly from Smolda with Mossdale Conner an excellent third.

The last quarter was timed in 26.9 seconds.

“He went super and relaxed perfectly after the early burn, I was confident I could hold Smolda over the final stages and it worked out well. He’s a great horse and now we’re headed to Sydney for the Miracle Mile.” Alford said.

Following his success in last month’s Inter Dominion in Perth, Lennytheshark becomes the first horse to win multiple Australian Pacing Gold Grand Circuit events this season and sits at the top of the points table with 200 points.

Smolda (160) is second while My Hard Copy (108) is third with two legs of the season remaining, the $500,000 Hunter Cup next week and the $750,000 Miracle Mile on February 28.

 

 

Related News

30 June 2024
The Captain makes a statement ahead of a potential Queensland trip
David Moran is waiting on an invitation to contest the Group 1 $355,000 The Rising Sun in Brisbane after his pacer Captain Hammerhead scored an impressive win at Melton on Saturday night. Moran wasted little time in heading around to sit parked outside Jillibyjacksparrow over the 1720 metre sprint trip...
30 June 2024
Extreme Setback Ruins TAB Eureka Dream
AUSTRALIA’S most exciting Extreme Sea has been hit by injury and will miss the world’s richest harness race, the $2.1mil TAB Eureka. To read more, visit: Extreme setback ruins TAB Eureka dream — The Eureka Harness Race
29 June 2024
Vincenzo on a path to Tassie Three Year Old features
Fresh off driving his first double in Hobart on 16 June, driver Jack Watson hopes that form can continue on Sunday night’s nine-race card in Hobart. Vincenzo and Jack James, both trained by Watson’s mother, Juanita McKenzie, were the two horses that he drove to victory, and he will drive...
28 June 2024
Kez, Ewa, Sam and Tim tackle Melton on Burning Questions
Kerryn Manning, Ewa Justice and Sam Barker joined Tim O’Connor to preview Saturday night’s meeting at Melton on Burning Questions. The agenda: Who leads the opener on Saturday night and who'll emerge as winner of the fight? Mufasa is off to chase the Queensland sun, but first can he get this...
Click for more