Tabcorp Park was the place to be for pacing fans over the weekend as the Metropolitan Trainers’ Premiership title race was locked in a three-way battle between trainers Lance Justice, Tony Peacock, and Glenn Douglas. Each of the three men had 21 wins apiece for the 2009/10 season, and were looking to the races held on Friday night to decide a winner.
Justice started the night off right with a win in the Tabcorp Park Melton Pacers Handicap. The M0+ race was run over a distance of 2,240 metres and carried a purse worth $15,000. Justice’s horse Vito Vito was a $3.00 favourite going into the race, and the brown gelding didn’t let punters down. Starting from the front row in barrier four, Vito Vito went on to take a convincing win and over $10,000 in prize money. Tellthebanker was 8.70 behind to take second. Justice’s Artoc finished in third place 9.10 off the leader.
2010 Tabcorp Park Melton Pacers Handicap Results:
| Place | Horse | Prize Money | Row & Br | Trainer | Driver | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vito Vito NZ | $10,125 | Fr4 | LJ Justice | LJ Justice | – |
| 2 | Tellthebanker NZ | $2,250 | Sr3 | DF Braun | CA Alford | 8.70 |
| 3 | Artoc NZ | $1,500 | Fr1 | LJ Justice | G Lang | 9.10 |
| 4 | Ohoka Georgia NZ | $750 | Fr5 | GF Webster | SW Dyer | 13.90 |
| 5 | Our Crusherdust NZ | $375 | Sr2 | GF Douglas | DK Douglas | 18.30 |
| 6 | King High NZ | – | Fr6 | N Carbone | N Carbone | 23.50 |
| 7 | Dhoni | – | Sr5 | PW Tonkin | BR Gath | 24.00 |
| 8 | Lombo Limmo | – | Fr1 | TE Pullicino | JJ Caldow | 24.20 |
| 9 | On Any Day | – | Sr1 | D Aiken | JN Quinlan | 27.80 |
| 10 | Cobargo Magic | – | Fr3 | AL Peacock | NA McCallum | 30.50 |
| 11 | Tibur Power | – | Fr2 | RW Francis | RA Payne | 31.60 |
| 12 | Mach Twain NZ | – | Fr2 | LJ Justice | JC Hackett | 33.70 |
| 13 | Rare Surprise NZ | – | Fr3 | AL Peacock | DR Wilson | 39.60 |
| 14 | Kings A Coach | – | Sr4 | GF Webster | E Brosnan | 45.50 |
The success didn’t stop there for Justice. He followed up the impressive performance with another in race number seven – the Minuteman Free For All. Many were predicting that the Justice-trained Smoken Up would take the win in this one, and the gelding didn’t disappoint. In a thrilling race that came right down to the wire, Smoken Up managed to pull ahead of second place finisher TI Vogliobene to take the much needed win. Not only did this mark the horse’s seventh win in Australia this season, but it also secured the trainers’ premiership title for Justice. This year marks the fourth premiership win in the last five years for Justice.
While Douglas and Peacock had high hopes going into Friday night’s festivities, neither trainer came through with a win. The night was especially disappointing for Peacock when he failed to come through with a placing in The Graduate. Race number six on the card featured four Peacock-trained horses that were expected to do well. Cullens Impact, who was expected to do the best, took 11th place, finishing 19.50 off the leader. Wrongly Accused didn’t fare any better, finishing in last place 24.90 off the leader. The BL Hansen-trained Arber took first place and the $13,500 prize.
2010 Minuteman FFA Results:
| Place | Horse | Prize Money | Row & Br | Trainer | Driver | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smoken Up NZ | $13,500 | Fr7 | LJ Justice | LJ Justice | – |
| 2 | TI Vogliobene | $3,000 | Fr5 | GR Norman | BR Gath | 1.60 |
| 3 | Cincinnati Kid NZ | $2,000 | Fr6 | M Peace | M Peace | 4.40 |
| 4 | Bold Cruiser NZ | $1,000 | Fr3 | GF Douglas | DK Douglas | 6.00 |
| 5 | Benny Mac NZ | $500 | Sr2 | AL Peacock | DR Wilson | 6.20 |
| 6 | Lady De Beau | – | Fr1 | GM Tindale | JN Quinlan | 9.00 |
| 7 | Megasam NZ | – | Fr4 | GF Douglas | GF Douglas | 11.10 |
| 8 | Ohoka Nevada NZ | – | Sr1 | AL Peacock | AL Peacock | 15.60 |
| 9 | Pacific Charm | – | Fr2 | L Miles | L Miles | 16.10 |