NZ HARNESS NEWS
Life’s a beach for Waikouaiti trainer Denis O’Connell.
The horseman scored his second training win of the season with Aveross Ferrari at Oamaru today.
Driver Mark Hurrell extricated the five-year-old from four back on the marker pegs to unleash a big finish and gain his second career win.
Aveross Ferrari’s victory rocked punters, paying $40.50 to win and $7.30 for a place.
The pacer is a royally bred son of Mach Three and the inaugural Harness Jewels winning mare GTH Aveross.
O’Connell races the horse on lease from his Dunedin breeders, Ross and Averil Pettit.
Though Aveross Ferrari has not lived up to that breeding, the horse has improved his form and banked two wins since landing in O’Connell’s stable in August.
“He seems to be really enjoying the beach work and thriving on the racing, though his form-line does not show it,’’ he said.
‘’That was his fourth run in eight days and each time the drivers have come back and said he has been a bit unlucky.’’
Aveross Ferrari makes up on third of O’Connell’s racing team.
The horseman, who describes himself as semi-retired, also produced Alexy to run seventh behind Aveross Ferrari.
O’Connell works the pair and an unqualified Changeover 4yr-old on the Waikouaiti beach when low tide allows.
Another pairing of a veteran horseman and junior driver also scored success on today’s Oamaru card.
Junior reinsman John Morrison scored a bold front running win on the Patrick O’Reilly-trained No Fears.
Morrison took the horse to the lead in the early stages of the race and never gave his rivals a look in by setting a strong tempo and then reeling off fast sectionals to win.
- NZ Harness News
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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