Quality mares nominate for Girls On Fire Time Trials

15 February 2012 - Group 1 winning mare Miss Warbucks and USA speedster Cold Sister will be the two star attractions in Sunday’s inaugural Aldebaran Park Girls On Fire Time Trial Series for trotting mares at Bendigo’s Lord’s Raceway.  Seven mares have nominated to compete for the $5,000 stakes plus Aldebaran Park and Loddon Valley Stud stallion services in the 1609 metre Time Trials to be raced between the Club’s TAB races on Sunday evening. Trainer Chris Lang Jr. has will time trial two mares, Group 1 winner Miss Warbucks set to race the clock and the nine-year-old Sundon mare which has already banked over $142,000 and picked up the prize purse in the Gr 1 Trotters Mile at Menangle last November should be the star attraction. Another attraction will be the rising star square gaiter Cold Sister, the four-year-old US bred mare by Like A Prayer, trained for Cold Mountain Stud by David Aiken. Cold Sister is capable of clocking a sizzling mile and already has a 1:57.3 mile rate from a Melton victory in December. Aldebaran Park’s Duncan McPherson congratulated Bendigo on attracting the quality mares for the trotting promotion. “This is a great start for a new event with quality mares out to better their best times and to promote trotting, that’s what it’s all about,” McPherson said. Other interesting mares time trialling will be five-year-old US Conway Hall mare Sultry Lady, a David Aiken trainee that has won four of seven races this season and the former New Zealand mare Dealornodeal NZ, now with Chris Lang. Gillieston trained Prettylilangeleyes knows the Bendigo track well and will be driven by local ace Daryl Douglas in her time trial. Others time trialling are Ruth Shinn’s Last Sunrise and the Brian Kiesey trained Candy Digger. The first of the Girls On Fire Time Trials will start at about 6:05pm with the remainder between each subsequent race. The trotter’s time trialling are each expected to have a pacemaker, galloping alongside to encourage each of the mares to reach top speed. Sunday’s race meeting also features the Final of the HRTC Young Drivers Rising Star Series as the feature TAB race on the eight race card and a Pony Fancy Dress Competition which has attracted interest from around Victoria. -David Aldred