Racing: Marcoola not so deflated

Master Lavros will spend his Christmas holidays at home, rather than trekking to Auckland. Photo / Photosport

It hasn't taken long for a negative to be followed by a positive for exciting trotter Marcoola.

The 4-year-old cost punters plenty through no fault of his own at Alexandra Park on Friday night, finishing unplaced in the Lyell Creek Trot after his sulky tyre was flattened straight after the start.

Trainer-driver Clint Ford valiantly tried to shift his weight to the other side of the sulky but to no avail and after leading into the straight Marcoola was run down by Sunny Ruby in a near record time for the 2200m mobile.

There was still plenty to like about Marcoola's effort and Ford isn't worried heading into his main summer aim, the National Trot at Alexandra Park on December 31.

Rightly so, especially when he hears the news the TAB's second favourite for the group one trot Master Lavros isn't coming north.

Master Lavros, a two-time Dominion winner, returned with a nerve-wracking win at Addington on Friday night, seeing some bookies even promote him to the head of their markets for the National Trot.

However, trainer Mark Jones has confirmed Master Lavros won't be coming north, with his early gallop on the way to victory on Friday suggesting he still has some minor issues, which Jones feels more comfortable working on at home.

So while he has been beaten, Marcoola has now also lost his main National Trot rival and is back to $2.80 at the head of the TAB market.

There is slightly better news for Australian visitor Kyvalley Blur, who was expected to miss the National with a leg issue but he has recovered better than expected and could still make the race.

Sunny Ruby's win in the Lyell Creek has seen her shorten into $9 for the feature and new trainer David Butcher admitted Friday night was an emotional occasion, the win his first feature race victory since his father and long-time training partner John died three months ago.

Friday night winners Dream About Me and Titan Banner still dominate the Auckland Cup market 12 days out from Alexandra Park's biggest race but their stablemate Chase The Dream, who is on the third line of betting, is no certainty to contest the great race.

He will head to Cambridge for the $50,000 Four and Five-Year-Old Futurity, which not only looks a far easier target but is a mobile start after Chase The Dream completely blew his first standing start in the Franklin Cup on Friday night. "He could still go to the Cup but we will make our mind up on that after Cambridge," said co-trainer Mark Purdon.

The Cambridge programme on Saturday also features a group two $50,000 trotting mile, which could see Sunny Ruby and Friday's eyecatcher Bordeaux in action.

Meanwhile, champion Australian horsewoman Kerryn Manning is recovering after a horrific race fall last Friday saw her spend two nights in the Bendigo Base Hospital intensive care unit.

Manning, who became the first Australian female to train and drive a New Zealand Cup winner with Arden Rooney at Addington 13 months ago, was left drifting in and out of consciousness after a rival horse fell under her sulky wheel, flipping her on to the track at full speed.

Her condition improved yesterday and she was transferred from the ICU but will be away from race driving for some time after also suffering three broken ribs and a punctured lung. "Things are on the improve and we are lucky because it could have been so much worse," said Manning's husband Grant Campbell.

Market moves

• Marcoola's grip on National Trot favouritism looked tentative after his Alex Park defeat on Friday.

• But he was soon found to have a valid excuse.

• Key rival Master Lavros is not coming north for the race.

• Champion Victorian horsewoman Kerryn Manning is recovering from a shocking race fall.