3 April 2018

Page 71

MORNINGTON NEWS scoreboard

Leading trainers dominate Cup day

All conquering: Darren Weir-trained import King’s Will Dream triumphs in the Mornington Cup on Saturday 24 March. Picture: Supplied

MORNINGTON Cup day displayed the dominance of Victoria’s leading trainers as Darren Weir and the Lindsay Park operation took out four of the nine races at the metropolitan meeting on Saturday 24 March. Weir secured both of the feature races with Stellar Collision winning the $200,000 Listed Hareeba Stakes and the Mornington Cup favourite King’s Will Dream saluting in emphatic fashion in the $300,000 feature. King’s Will Dream eased down past the post to defeat Harrison and the Tasmanian visitor Fastnet Dragon by five-lengths and consequently bought up his fifth successive victory since arriving in Australia. With the Mornington Cup offering exemption from the Caulfield Cup ballot, King’s Will Dream has been

Peninsula boxers perform on the “big stage” PENINSULA Boxer Tyla McDonald has been crowned Australian champion for the second year running defeating usual rival and 2016 national champion Tameriah Barney-Sandy on Sunday 25 March. Tyla, 15, took out the junior under-54kgs national championships and was the only female Victorian boxer to claim back-to-back championships at the Australian Underage Titles in Perth. On top of the national crown, Tyla was part of the Junior Girls Team of the Year award, alongside fellow Victorian junior boxers, Dakotah Keane and Millicent Woods. Peninsula Boxing head coach Marcos Amado said the final was a highly competitive fight and was extremely proud to see Tyla crowned the national champ for a second consecutive year. “It’s a massive achievement,” he said. “There are a lot of athletes in Victoria and to accomplish so much at a young age is amazing and she really should be proud of her achievements.” Amado is currently in Queensland with Commonwealth Games hopeful Jason Whateley and he said witnessing everything in the build up to the Commonwealth Games, “I can 100 per cent see her on the big stage in years to come”. “I’m sure she’ll reach these goals if that is where she wants to continue heading towards – there’s no doubt in my mind,” Amado said. Peninsula Boxing’s success is hoping to continue onto the Commonwealth Games this month as Jason Whateley strives for gold in the heavy-weight (91kg) division. Whateley is likely to bounce into the ring on Friday 6 April with the Commonwealth Games draw to be confirmed on Tuesday 3 April. Whateley has spent three and a half weeks at America’s Olympic Training Centre in Colorado Springs where he focussed on altitude training and received “quality coaching” and sparred against “quality partners”. He only had a couple of days at home before heading to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra where he

Golden girl: Tyla McDonald takes out the national championships for the second consecutive year. Picture: Supplied

stayed for 10 days before heading to the Athlete’s Village in Queensland on Sunday 25 March. Whateley has four fights standing in his way of a gold medal but said he is feeling really well heading into the Games. “The preparation has been really good, I’ll probably taper off in the days leading up to the Games but at the moment I’m feeling really sharp,” Whateley said. “I’ve had a tough preparation camp which has been hard on the body and mind so I’ll have a freshen-up over the last couple of days and hopefully be jumping out of my skin when I enter the ring.”

rewarded with automatic entry into the Group One and looks set to be the first Mornington Cup winner to take up the opportunity. Mornington Racing Club general manager Stephen Bell said that the incentive is heading into its third year and while the past winners haven’t been able to make it to the Caulfield Cup, King’s Will Dream looks set to break the trend and head into the Group One as a live chance. “He’s caught the eye of everyone after his run in the Mornington Cup but it’s not just that win which has caught everyone’s attention as his previous wins in town had been pretty outstanding,” he said. “The bookmakers have come out and have already opened him up as the favourite for the Caulfield Cup.”

Bell also said they had a crowd of around 5,000 people which was likely affected by the pour down of rain earlier in the day. “The racing was strong and it was a very good day once the sun came out,” Bell said. The Lindsay Park operation ended up with a winning double on the day with Muswellbrook (Race 3) and Velox (Race 2) saluting and the latter providing 19-year-old apprentice jockey Lachlan King with his first metropolitan winner. Mornington-based trainer Tony Noonan also got in on the action as his lone runner She’s Positive triumphed in the fourth race with his son Jake aboard, adding another winner to his hot season. Ben Triandafillou

Western Port clash in season opener WESTERN Port’s largest footballing rivalry will hit the field on Saturday 7 April as Hastings Football-Netball Club hosts the Crib Point Magpies in their one and only home and away clash for the season. The Westernport sides will battle it out at Thomas Barclay Reserve, Hastings in the opening round of the MPNFL Nepean fixture with new head coaches Ricky Ferraro (Hastings) and Nathan Johns (Crib Point) both hoping to see their rigorous pre-season all come together. Hastings head coach Ricky Ferraro said that everyone had come back from pre-season in great condition after a disappointing end to 2017 when defeated in the semi-final by Frankston Bombers. “We started our pre-season in mid-November and haven’t taken a backward step,” he said. “Our boys are extremely excited, we have recruited players in positions that we needed - not just players that we wanted. “We believe this will be the key to helping us put our best step forward in 2018.” Hastings is hoping to fill the void of a key forward which they missed last year with the recruitment of former Parkdale Vultures player, Matthew Boland. Hastings will also have former Crib Point players Taylor Stratton and Benjamin King returning to the Blue’s this season and they are hoping to make a dominant return following a tough pre-season. Along with the footballing rivalry,

Hard yards: Hastings Football club players put in a strong pre-season ahead of their season opener against Crib Point. Picture: Supplied

Hastings will also field their first A-grade netball side as well as having their first under-17’s team competing throughout the day. Carlton AFLW twin sisters, Jess and Sarah Hosking, will bring their sporting talent to the netball court and join the women’s A-grade side on the Saturday. A-grade netball coach Trish McLachlan said last month that the “feel” around the Hastings Netball Club is one of excitement as the sister’s arrival nears. “I know that Hastings has had a number of years where they have struggled to get quality players into the netball program and to have two players that are of the caliber of Jess and Sarah I think is very exciting,” she said. “We are putting in a nice pre-season and becoming a nice tight little unit so I’m looking forward to getting the season started.”

Sudoku and crossword solutions

ROUND 1

SATURDAY APRIL 7 FRANKSTON Vs Essendon Played at Skybus Stadium at 2pm

ROUND 2

SATURDAY APRIL 14 FRANKSTON Vs Box Hill Hawks Played at Skybus Stadium at 2pm

Come & Support the Dolphins!

AND BE PART OF IT!

Frankston Football Club Cnr Plowman Place & Young Street, Frankston 3199 Ph: 9783 7888 email: tina@frankstonfc.com.au www.frankstonfc.com.au

Mornington News

3 April 2018

PAGE 71


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