Petracca Photo by Stuart McCormick
MELBOURNE AFL fans will get a double dip this weekend.
The Demons are warm favourites to beat Carlton at the MCG on Friday night and progress to the preliminary finals of a fascinating AFL season.
Just 24 hours later, three-year-old pacer Petracca – named after gun Melbourne midfielder Christian Petracca – will dominate betting from a perfect draw (gate one) in the $150,000 Group 1 Vicbred final for three-year-old colts and geldings at Melton.
Petracca is raced by leviathan owner and passionate Melbourne supporter Danny Zavitsanos, who has already shown his star power with eleven starts, netting eight wins, a third and $109,778 in earnings.
The colt was back to his sparkling best, winning a semi-final in second gear by 19.7m at Melton last Saturday night.
“I named him a few days after Melbourne broke its premiership drought in 2021,” Zavitsanos said. “I’ve got another called Gawn (named after Melbourne ruckman Max Gawn) and Oliver Dan. He’s named after Clayton Oliver, but they wouldn’t let me have just Oliver, so I settled on Oliver Dan.”
Petracca looms as part of a monstrous night for his co-trainers Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin.
IT will be a big surprise if they don’t at least match their own record and win five of six Group 1 Vicbred pacing finals on Saturday night.
After the barriers were drawn today, Stewart and Tonkin will stifle the betting in all pacing finals except for four-year-old entires and geldings, where they have just the one runner, Khafaji. He has claims but will need luck from inside the back row (gate eight).
Their greatest dominance comes with a staggering eight of the twelve starters in the four-year-old mares’ final, where Amore Vita’s already tight grip on favouritism became a stranglehold after she snared gate three.
She aims to become just the second female pacer to complete a clean sweep of the Vicbred series, having already won the finals as a two and three-year-old.
It’s hard to see any of her stablemates turning the tables on her, let alone the four runners from other stables.
Stewart and Tonkin also have seven of the twelve starters in the two-year-old colts and geldings final, where the barrier draw has been decisive again. Slick semi-final winner Stormryder, who boasts five wins and a second from just six starts, should find the front and take a power of beating from gate four.
Key rivals Bay Of Biscay and Kingman face daunting tasks trying to upset Stormryder from barriers 11 and 13, respectively.
Sweet Bella has the draw (gate three) to stretch her unbeaten record to eight wins in the three-year-old fillies final, but the classy Joyful was stunning, winning the other semi-final and cannot be underestimated despite gate 11.
Despite having three runners, plus the emergency, in the two-year-old fillies final, Stewart and Tonkin should also win that with one of their semi-final winners, Draw A Dream (gate six) or Renewal (three).
Although Stewart and Tonkin don’t train many trotters, they do have two Vicbred trotting finalists on Saturday night.
Susan Is Her Name’s heat run was mind blowing after making an early mistake and finishing second. If she’s on her best behaviour, she looms as the biggest danger to hot favourite Rockinwithattitude (gate three).
They also have consistent Royal Dan (gate five) in the four-year-old trotting final for entires and geldings, but he would need to improve to beat the likes of Chris Svanansio’s exciting pair Aroha Koe (gate
three) and Arcee Phoenix (12).
Svanosio also has two runners in the four-year-old trotting mares’
final, where Lady Adelia will be one of the hardest to beat.
