Graham Fischer
GAWLER and district trainers dominated Saturday night’s Globe Derby Park harness meeting, taking out both of the feature events.
Joes A Character, trained at Willaston by Yvette Zitterbart, took out the Hygain Italian Cup over 2230m while Trinity College teacher Claire Goble, who lives at Wasleys, won the Fred Jones Trotters Cup over 2645m with Millys Magic.
Zitterbart said she is having a great run with five-year-old Joes A Character, with the Italian Cup win making it 17 successes from just 35 starts.
Joes A Character, driven by Dani Hill as a red-hot $1.40 favourite, scored by three metres from Regal Scribe ($5) with Lochinvar Hugo ($9.50), just over three metres away in third.
Queen of Mirth, the dam of the five-year-old, also just foaled a colt by Tinted Cloud, which Zitterbart said she is already in love with.
Joes A Character gets his name because he is exactly that – a character.
On the track he is the perfect pacer, but away from racing he is happy to take a nip at anyone who tries to get too close – even the trainer.
The Fred Jones Trotters Cup is a race which is much sought-after among the community of ‘square gaiters’, and the win by Millys Magic was special for trainer Claire Goble.
Goble, and driver David Smith, love the square gaiters, and Millys Magic has developed into one of the state’s best.
Coming off a 20-metre handicap, Millys Magic ($3.70) scored a one-metre win from the 2020 winner Kitsilano ($5), trained and driven by fellow Gawler resident Greg Rogers, with Illawong Patrick ($8.50) a gap of five metres away in third.
Driver David Smith made his winning move mid-race when he allowed the mare to trot around from last to sit outside the leader, where he was able to dictate the tempo.
Millys Magic came clear in the home straight, but Kitsilano, which had been held up, got clear and finished strongly to narrowly miss.
Harness enthusiasts can mark Sunday, March 7 down in the calendar for the running of the annual Gawler Cup meeting – the Gawler Harness Racing Club will conduct racing at its track on Two Wells Road.
