Alta Meteor produces statement win at Addington

[Wandering Eyes]

By Michael Guerin

Happy but not surprised was how co-trainer Amanda Telfer sums up one of the best training performances of her career.

Because when Alta Meteor stomped past some very good horses on a soaked Addington home straight on Friday night, he was only showing Telfer what her team had been seeing at home.

Telfer runs the southern barn of what is unofficially our premiership winning stable and their golden winter was probably capped by the win in the NZI Insurance National Handicap Pace. 

Alta Meteor hadn’t raced since last year’s New Zealand Cup and not many pacers win off 30m anywhere in harness racing these days, let alone in their comeback race against fellow Cups horses.

But that is exactly what Alta Meteor did, blasting past leader American Me, with trailer Franco Marek getting up the passing lane to get closest in second.

There was plenty to like about how fellow backmarker Mo’unga found the line up the inside back in sixth but make no mistake, this was a statement performance from Alta Meteor.

So why wasn’t Telfer, the sister of her training partner Steve, surprised?

“He had been working well and he is a good horse,” she explains.

“He has been good in his two trials so we knew he was quite ready.”

Alta Meteor will now return to Addington for the Maurice Holmes Vase on August 22 which has an automatic ticket into the IRT New Zealand Cup, which Telfer admits is a mountain to climb.

“If Leap To Fame and Swayzee come over we know how hard it is going to be but we’d rather be in the race and qualified than having to worry about getting in.”

Earlier in the night the stable produced another smart two-year-old in B B King, who was super impressive coming from last to win on debut.

“He has always shown us something but we put him aside after his first trials because he is so big.

“The aim is the Sires’ Stakes for him but that is going to mean a bit of juggling as we have a few being aimed at that.

“So at this stage we will keep racing them and give them experience.”

And one of the highlights of the South Island junior driver’s season went, again, to Sam Thornley, when he led throughout on Royal Gypsy to win the Darren DeFilippi Memorial Trot.

Thornley got the sectionals inch-perfect and Royal Gypsy did the best for owner-trainer-breeder Fred Fletcher and his wife Fay.

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