Sport
4 December, 2025
Dunne spears across the pegs
A RETURN to form by the Mildura-owned pacer Bizzness Class saw the six-year-old claim a Stawell Cup heat at Horsham on Monday.
A RETURN to form by the Mildura-owned pacer Bizzness Class saw the six-year-old claim a Stawell Cup heat at Horsham on Monday.
The gelding, owned by Pudd MacDonald and Sue Button and trained by Michael Gadsden, had not won since mid-July but made full use of gate five when Charlton driver Luke Dunne speared it across to the pegs.
After handing up to favourite Hez All Rock, Dunne was able to angle into clear running in the home straight and the pair sprinted home like “a B-Double down Dundas Street,” scoring by 4.9 metres in a slick one minute 55.8 seconds for the 2200 metres.
Although there was little joy for the McNaulty and Torney stables at Horsham, both camps bounced back with winners at Ballarat on Thursday night.
A newcomer to the McNaulty yard, Gallico, broke through impressively in the Maiden Pace. Driven aggressively early by Jordan Leedham, the three-year-old circled the field to sit outside the leader before asserting its superiority in the straight to win by 13.1 metres.
By The Storm Inside, Gallico had eight starts for four placings before being purchased by a large ownership group: N Holt, L McAllister, B Geary, A Collins, K Fitzgerald, H Bugge, L Holt, L Fitzgerald, P Brown, T Brown, L Polkinghorne, J Donaldson and N Holt.
Trainer-driver Scott Torney also tasted success with the ultra-consistent Tension Seeker, the 12-year-old mare he races with niece Zoe.
Except for her tough run at Horsham, she had been knocking on the door and was duly rewarded.
The winning form continued on Friday night at Melton, with brothers Shaun and Jason McNaulty producing another strong result — this time with Pesci, a firm $1.70 favourite from barrier nine.
Driven by James Herbertson, Pesci was still seventh at the 800 metres before unleashing a sustained three-wide run in a 56-second last half, getting up by 1.1 metres in a tight three-way finish.
The gelding recorded the fastest 1720 metres time of the meeting, clocking one minute 53.6 seconds on a rain-affected track.
The Stawell Club battled poor weather for their Cup meeting on Sunday, but both features remained competitive.
The opening event — an up-to-49 trot — went the way of Lady Suspicious, driven by Peter Sanderson of Korong Vale for Cudgee trainer John Meade. Despite form of 9-6-9, the four-year-old mare stunned punters, starting at $126 and returning $187.50 on the tote.
Charlton also figured prominently at Stawell with Me And Zac winning the Maiden Trot at just its fourth start.
Owned by Gavan Holt, trained by Zac Steenhuis and driven by James Herbertson, the three-year-old is by Pastor Stephen out of NZ mare La Tonneralla, whose progeny include Jilliby Babavska and Maestro, winners of twenty-five races between them.
The Charlton Harness Racing Club also held its AGM last week, welcoming Kyle Jenkyn to the committee and Lori Mills as incoming secretary. The club farewelled outgoing secretary Troy Heenan and long-serving committee member Doug Gretgrix, who has contributed widely, including serving as Secretary from 1986–1988 and President from 1994–1996.
Racing heads to Horsham this Sunday for Cup day before returning to Charlton Park on Monday for the first of two December meetings.
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