Speedy Trotting mare eyes the Silverware

23 March 2012 - She is tackling the silver class final of the Lyn McPherson Memorial Breed For Speed Series, but Bendigo mare Aleppo Midas has the golden touch. Rebellious, resilient and loaded with talent, Michelle Eastman's four-year-old daughter of Sundon may well be the fastest female trotter of her generation racing in Victoria.
And after throttling Amelia Darling in a heat of the series two weeks ago, she looks the testing material in tonight's $10,000 decider at Melton's Tabcorp Park. "She's very much an extrovert. She likes to tip us out and she's full of personality, but we're in awe of what she can do out on the track," Eastman said. "A lot of the work we do with her is just about calming her down, but she's come a very long way in a very short time and we just love her; my husband Dale just loves her to death." An exciting but often wayward performer in her classic season, Aleppo Midas has been a picture of poise in three runs this term. Dominant at Bendigo to kick off her campaign, the full sister to Eastman-bred Inter Dominion hope Aleppo Sunrise was again impressive, despite failing, at Cobram two runs ago. But while those performances were promising, it was Aleppo Midas' breathtaking last-start triumph in 1min 56.6sec that has her primed for Breed For Speed glory to justify the hours Eastman and her husband invest in the sport. "We wake up at 10 to five every morning to work our horses because Dale and I have full-time jobs, so it really is a labour of love," Eastman said. "To win tonight would be a fantastic reward. We've fallen in love with trotters over the last couple of years, so to win a prestigious race like this we'd be stoked, both for ourselves and for the horse." - Source Herald Sun.