Northern junior driver Monika Ranger has been in scintillating form of late, and tonight at Cambridge Raceway she will look to continue her winning ways when she starts alongside last-place winner Rewiri Hill in the Race Ready With Betavet Handicap Trot (7:06pm).
It has been an excellent season for the talented reinswoman, who is enjoying her winningest season to date in the Sulky. From just 98 runs, the Ranger has collected 19 wins, 12 seconds, and 14 thirds, for an impressive UDR of .3095. She has had four winners in the past month alone.
“I’ve been really lucky to have the same coaches who have supported me all the way: Jeremy Young, Owen Gillies and Matty White. David and Ben (Butcher) too.” Monika said
“Matty lets me ride Lord Popinjay when he doesn’t have a ride himself, and he’s one of the best horses in his stable, it’s quite surreal. I’m extremely grateful.”
That partnership with Lord Popinjay was one of the highlights of the season, with the pair taking their tenth win together at Alexandra Park last Friday evening. For Ranger, who juggles her racing commitments with a full-time position at Lincoln Farms, it has been a year of steady progress.
“I work full time at Lincoln Farms, and Shane and I have our two there too, so we roam around with them,” she said.
Tonight the focus is on Rewiri Hill, a six-year-old Muscle Hill gelding trained by Jason Teaz, who will look to back up his last start win at Cambridge earlier this month. On that occasion the pair dropped the pace before producing a strong finishing burst to score by 1¼ lengths.
“He felt like he was still running flat out at the line,” Monika said of that win. “He is progressing very well.”
The gelding steps up both in level and distance tonight, starting from the front line on the 2700m run, but Ranger believes he is capable of handling the ascent.
“It’s a small step forward for him, there are some nice horses in the field, but there’s no reason why he can’t play the drums if he’s handy,” she said. “It will really depend on where we land, but I wouldn’t write him off because he’s still on the rise!”
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Through Jordyn Bublitz for Harness Racing New Zealand
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