By Mike Love
Multiple Group 1 winner Oscar Bonavena turned record-breaker at Methven yesterday.
The Mark and Nathan Purdon-trained eight-year-old inched ever closer to $1m in stakes earnings with a record third win in the Woodlands Stud Green Mile around the Mt Harding circuit.
Blair Orange speared Oscar Bonavena to the lead with arch rival Muscle Mountain sitting parked.
Turning for home Oscar Bonavena had a decisive break before Muscle Mountain made his move, cutting the buffer to just half a head at the line.
Oscar Bonavena’s winning time of 1:57.59 was a new track record for the trotters over 1609m, beating Everybody Knows’ record (1:58.4) set in 2017.
It was substantially quicker than his winning time last year (2:01.00).
“He never really settled when he found the front,” winning driver Blair Orange told Harness Unhinged’s Nigel Armstrong post race, “but when I needed to ask him for an effort he knuckled down. It was a game effort.”
The Green Mile has been an annual fixture on the grass at Methven since 2010 with Oscar Bonavena being the only horse to have won it three times.
The 2023 Trotter of the Year has been in brilliant form of late, following up his third in the Renwick Farms Dominion Trot, with an upset victory over superstar Australian Just Believe in the Livamol New Zealand Trotting Free For All on Show Day at Addington.
Oscar Bonavena has now won 28 races from 73 starts, with $965,558 in stakes..
His time mirrored that of Better Eclipse and his driver Greg Sugars in the Methven 4 Square Supermarket Green Mile for the pacers.
After sitting parked for the majority of the trip the Australian visitors wore down One Change to win by half a length in 1:57.5.
“I was lucky enough to come here and drive earlier in the year but didn’t get a win so very happy to get a win on the board,” said Sugars.
Better Eclipse will now head to Auckland for the Franklin Cup and then try to defend the Auckland Cup crown he won last year.
Methven Trotting Club president Michael Heenan was very happy with how the meeting went, both on and off track.
“It was a terrific day. There were people everywhere with caravans, barbecues and the like,” said Heenan.
Adding to the day his own horse Shard De Arch was second in the last of the day, the Bayleys Ashburton Mobile Pace.
“We were really happy with her,” says Heenan, “she’s a very promising horse and may be the best I’ve had! She will hopefully just keep getting better.”
The Methven Trotting Club races next on January 26.
