Music a big hit with Punters

10 July 2012 - Saturday night’s Loddon Valley Stud 2yo Classic at Bendigo will springboard Australian Pacing Gold winner Musical Delight into next week’s heat of the Australasian Breeders Crown and trainer Gary Quinlan is quietly confident that his star filly can extend her four race winning streak.
With the barriers drawn on class, Musical Delight will come from the outside gate in an interesting seven horse line-up. “My filly is versatile and Nathan (Jack) knows he can use her gate speed or take a sit and sprint home, so the gate start isn’t an issue,” Quinlan said. “She’s a winner at Bendigo two runs before the APG Final victory and she races well on the track, so I’m pretty happy about her chances.”  Goulburn Valley reinsman Jack is driving in career best form and has been on Musical Delight at each of her five wins. Quinlan knows that Musical Delight has a tough month ahead of her as she targets the main goal, the $303,000 Group 1 Australasian Breeders Crown at Tabcorp Park, Melton on Sunday 19 August. “She goes into Saturday night’s race off the back of two trials, one a Warragul and one at Cranbourne, my filly finished second in both her trials and last Saturday was beaten by Glenferrie EJ at Cranbourne,” Quinlan said.  “I clocked her breaking 57 seconds for the last half mile and I haven’t had her too wound up as she has the Crown ahead of her. “I can tell you that she has taken a lot of benefit from the two trials.”Seven days after Saturday’s Bendigo race, Musical Delight will contest a heat of ABC at Shepparton. Musical Delight is hot property in Victorian harness racing. The daughter of Bettors Delight and the former outstanding Victorian race mare Top Tempo, put together her four consecutive wins in a month, the wins including the $307,000 Final of the Australian Pacing Gold (Fllly Division) at Tabcorp Park Melton at her last start on 27 April.  Sprinting home along the markers, Musical Delight won the 1720 metre race in a career best 1:57 mile rate to beat Patchitupbaby and Major Joy and for that victory collected $150,000 for her owners, Lauriston Bloodstock's Bill and Anne Anderson. Despite the filly’s excellent record, Quinlan recognises that Bendigo’s Loddon Valley Stud Classic is far from a one or even two horse race. “Glenferrie EJ is an obvious danger and the Ballarat filly Bit of A Babe and the New South Wales filly Perfezione are going to provide plenty of competition,” he said.  The Craig Demmler trained Glenferrie EJ (Jodi Quinlan) will start from gate six. She was runner up to Musical Delight in the Youthful Stakes at Melton in March after winning her first two starts at Maryborough and Melton.
In the Colts & Gelding division of the Loddon Valley Classic, Nathan Jack will drive Fiddlers Three for Yanco trainer David Eurell. Fiddlers Three, a son of Mach Three won the Joe Kennedy Memorial at its only race start at Cobram last week. Rating 1:59.1 for the mile Fiddlers Three led all the way to beat the luckless Perfezione.  With a nice gate draw Fiddlers Three could well emulate that run in this race. Former New Zealander Flaming Flutter makes its Australian debut for trainer Geoff Webster with Greg Sugars taking the reins. Flaming Flutter, a son of Bettors Delight is an Addington winner. The winners of the two $7,000 Loddon Valley Stud Classics will get a bonus stallion service to a Loddon Valley Stud stallion of the owner’s choice, with the prize provided by John and Kay Campbell.      Racing at Bendigo commences at 5:27pm with the 10 race card concluding with the Redwood Weekend Trot at 10:00pm. - ​