Sport
17 August, 2026
Happy hunting ground in trots
MILDURA was once again a happy hunting ground for the southerners with a quartet of wins for Charlton driver Luke Dunne.
MILDURA was once again a happy hunting ground for the southerners with a quartet of wins for Charlton driver Luke Dunne.
That included a double for his partner Tori Hutchins and John Tormey combined with Jack Laugher to win with the three-year-old filly All Done Tara, who defeated the McNaulty stable’s You’ve Been Served who was driven by Scott Torney.
Tori’s winners were Don Crunch, who was coming off a second at Melton, and a new addition to the stable Don Lou who took out the fast class event on the programme.
Don Lou had won fourteen times before Friday but the previous win for seven-year-old by the US stallion Sweet Lou was in mid-November of 2024 at Menangle, NSW, when it was a $1.28 favourite.
The other wins for the day for those that dodged the potholes on the Calder Highway were Ellen Tormey on the Andrew Vozlic trained Hesastar and Jack Laugher made it a double to take his season’s tally to 82 wins to date on the Sunraysia pacer United.
Greg Hargreaves of Wedderburn featured as the breeder of the quinella in the Community Bank Trot at Maryborough on Monday with the Tarah McNamara trained Poppy Popstar defeating the Ashley Ainsworth trained Boutika by half-a-head.
Both trotters who were foaled in 2018 are by the 2008 Victoria Trotters Derby and 2010 St Arnaud Trotters Cup winner Danny Bouchea.
A sizeable number of Victorian trained pacers crossed the Murray on Friday to race at Wagga with Shane and Abby Sanderson snaring a double for the Birchip Crew.
This was with the NZ bred two-year-old colt Fully Reckless and the three-year-old Bettors Delight colt Atua Magic, who now has won three with two placings from his six career starts.
Progress with the upgrades to the stable area at Bendigo appear to be coming along well and its fingers crossed that the lights will be finished in time for the re-opening of the track in October.
Tonight’s Bendigo spot is being filled by Melton with a truckload of horses from Berrimal heading down the Calder and then next Monday, July 17, racing returns to Charlton.
Read More: Local