WARRIOR pacer Myrniong Vancealot defied his age to win his 150th start.
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The 11-year-old hadn’t won since May 28, 2010, but stormed home late to claim victory at Wagga on Friday night.
The short, half-head victory was his first for trainer-driver Justin Field, and was Field’s first win in the gig since 2001.
Field purchased the entire for $500 dollars and he was placed twice in 21 starts for the Old Junee conditioner before his breakthrough win.
He now takes his record to 13 wins, 13 seconds and 15 thirds from 150 starts and has now earned more than $50,000.
Field likes racing older horses and decided to give him a chance.
“The horse has raced well for me all the time and that’s why I haven’t given up on him,” he said.
“He’s just a horse I haven’t had any luck in running with his racing pattern.
“I’ve got full admiration for that horse, because you know every time he steps onto the track he’ll give 110 per cent.”
The 32-year-old doesn’t drive too much anymore, but with regular reinsman Shane Hallcroft driving Miss Bumpers for Field, he re-took the reins.
After racing at Parkes last month, Field “sacked himself” from driving, but brought up the “fairytale” with Myrniong Vancealot.
Hallcroft usually drives his horses, with Field labelling him a “great driver”.
Field trained the quinella with Myrniong Vancealot running down Miss Bumpers in the final stride, with In The Midnight Hour for Shaun Snudden a further head away.
Building up numbers, Field has a team of four horses, but his recent success isn't just for him but his mother Karen.
A former trainer herself, Karen has been fighting breast cancer.
“She’s having a bit of a battle
at the moment with breast cancer, but she’s going all right,” Field said.
“Having these horses at the races and going good has really lifted her, so it’s been good.”
Field doesn’t plan to give Myrniong Vancealot too many more starts and would like nothing more than for someone like Riding For The Disabled to give him a nice home for life.
Despite being an entire he’s so quiet that his four-year-old son Benjamin leads him around at home.
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IT WAS like a scene from a horror movie at the Albury trials last Tuesday.
Mark Buckingham arrived on course and innocuously took one horse to the urinal only to discover it was padlocked from the inside.
Surprised by the turn of events, he put his hand inside to try and remove the lock when suddenly his hand was grabbed by another.
Inside was a homeless man, who decided it would be a good place to stay and had locked the door to make sure he wasn’t disturbed.
“I went to put the horse in for Mother Nature and I did get a bit of a start,” Buckingham said.
“... it had all the makings of a horror movie”
“It’s something you don’t expect and I can think of better places to camp, that’s for sure.”
Based at Norong, Buckingham has two horses racing at Shepparton tonight.
Last-start Shepparton winner Sir Briggen will race in a C1 Vicbred Pace, while Final Flutter resumes from a spell in a different C1.
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FRITH leads the charge for the Harness Racing NSW awards night on the horse front, but a number of Riverina clubs are also in line for honours.
Wagga has been nominated for the Carnival of Cups Level 1 while Cootamundra and West Wyalong have been nominated for the Carnival of Cups Level 3.
Wagga is up against Bathurst and Dubbo in the top category.
Cowra is the third nomination in the third category.
Eugowra, Orange and Tamworth have been nominated for Level 2.
The awards night is at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth Hotel on October 25.
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RIVERINA racegoers will have a chance to win a European River Cruise at every meeting from October to January.
At every harness meeting in NSW until January 31, 20 racegoers will go into the draw to win the major prize on Inter Dominion Day.
In order to win, you must be at Menangle on March 1.
The prize is a 15-day Evergreen Tours cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest valued at $16,000 and includes two economy flights from Sydney.
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THERE were a couple of near misses for Riverina trainers at Menangle on Saturday night.
Both Business In Motion for Col Thomas and Do It Yourself for Justin Field finished a head away from claiming wins in the $25,000 Menangle Country Series final.
Business In Motion led but was just run down by the Steve Turnbull-trained Big Spook in a mile rate of 1:54.6.
Do It Yourself enjoyed a cosy run three back the pegs, but just couldn’t run down leader Millwood Liberty in the home straight in a mile rate of 1:54.8.
Field has Do It Yourself nominated to race at Kilmore on Tuesday.
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YIRRIBEE Stud night proved to be a success, with a larger-than-normal crowd coming out for the club’s first night meeting of the season.
Five free stallion services were handed out to winning connections on the night with the connections of Benoah and Lagoon Stride winning services to Australia’s leading first season sire for average dollars per starter Million Dollar Cam.
Prominent breeder and owner Jon Starr won a service Caribbean Blaster when McArdles Chance won the fast-class race and the connections of Dark Blue Sapphire and Ellamojo won services to Lombo Pocket Watch.
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SHEPPARTON will have another big influx on Riverina horses tonight.
Kim Hillier has five horses engaged including The Lombo La Fe Fe Stakes winner Dark Blue Sapphire.
The mare has again drawn perfectly again with barrier one.
Albury trainer Chris Chant was Alcolism and Sammysluck engaged while Daryll Perrott has To Infinitynbeyond in a three-year-old race.
David White also has Buddy Stoked resuming from a two-year-old campaign, but is an emergency in the same three-year-old race.
The Wagga-owned The Baggy Green returns to a C3-C4 race after finishing last in a M1 at Melton on Friday night for trainer David Moran.
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ECHUCA wasn’t a happy stomping ground for Riverina trainers with the majority of the meeting abandoned due to the state of the track on Wednesday night.
Kim Hillier had three runners set to race before heavy rain forced the meeting off after the second race.
Henty father and son combination Greg and Grant Forrest were able to race Forestspider in the opening race, with the $1.70 favourite coming off a 20-metre handicap to finish third.
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WITH Temora racing last night, there are no other meetings in the Riverina until Wagga’s meeting on September 10.
September 10 was the planned date for Bathurst’s first meeting with its new track, but with track not quite ready Wagga’s day meeting on the Friday has been transferred to a night meeting.
It gives the club another good opportunity to host a bigger crowd.
The meeting also hosts the region’s only heats of the Menangle Country Series with races for C1 pacers and C3-C4 to be run.
Excluding tomorrow, Wagga races every Friday this month with another night meeting on October 24 when the Empire Stallions Mares Classic will be run.