Peter Hibberd, The Buloke Times
The famous after party for the Mallee Bull Cups meeting at Birchip started early when H.R.V. stewards abandoned the last three races, for the health and safety of all concerned with continuous lightning in the local area.
Club president Travis Knights met with stewards and was given a briefing of their decision. The pacing cup will be run at Charlton this Sunday, preference in field selection will be given to horses which accepted for the abandoned Birchip Pacing Cup.
Mallee Bull Trotters’ Cup
The Trotters’ Cup for the famous trophy was a very keen race. The time for the race broke the track record by an amazing 7.3 seconds. The previous time has stood since January 2004.
As was expected, John’s Boy won the race but had to fight very hard to hold off challengers.
The win gave Brent Lilley and Tristan Larsen a training and driving double. This horse has New Zealand owners.
Travis and his team
Another amazing effort by Travis, Brad and their big team. The list of sponsors continues to grow with thirty-two names in the race book. The crowd was again very big with many enjoying the marquee village. I wonder what time the party finished?
Well done to all!
Results
Race one: The Brent Lilley and Tristan Larsen training and driving combination started the day off well with the win of three-year-old trotter, Franc. This was only its third race start. This trotter is part-owned by Greg and Nina Hope, from New Zealand, who have had success in some very big races.
Race two: Charlton trainer Michael Gadsden had success with Surprise To Me, driven by Luke Dunne, defeating Tension Seeker for trainer/ driver Scott Torney. This hose was only recently purchased in an online auction. New owner Emily Wombwell has seen this trotter race on six occasions for two wins and four placings; a very good purchase.
Race three: Poppy Popstar trained by Tarah McNamara from Wedderburn returned to winning form with a track record win in the Ryan Commodities trot. It has shown a lot of ability but does have a few tricks.
Race four: The O’Connors Case IH Maiden Pace was a very keen race with many moves made. Hellovatime, driven by Neil McCallum was able to lead and hold on for a narrow win. Trained by Owen Martin from Stawell, who said he loved coming to these meetings.
Race five: This race was run in very trying conditions – wind, rain and dust. Driver Sean O’Sullivan driving the Ashley Herbertson-trained Im Shadow Boxer came with a well-timed run down the outside to win.
Coming up
Charlton, next Sunday, March 16.
See all the photos in the issue.
This article appeared in The Buloke Times, 12 March 2025.
