Racing: Good week for Buchan

On face value, the non-winners' trot looked like a race Mosgiel trainer Craig Buchan could win at Wyndham yesterday.

Luckily enough, he had a horse named Face Value to do exactly that.

The Craig Buchan-trained mare settled midfield as Midnight Music took up the running. Driver Brad Williamson worked Face Value into the running line, before giving the 5yr-old daughter of Pegasus Spur some clear air in the last 400m to trot home by 1 lengths.

Face Value was made favourite in a field relatively bereft of form, based on her last-start third at Omakau on January 2.

Face Value is the last foal of the Game Pride mare Preface, who had left four other winners before her death in 2009, including the six-win Armbro Invasion gelding Gibbston, who won on Show Day in 2004 for trainer-driver Gerard O'Reilly.

Face Value's victory was the second win in a week for Buchan's stable, after Southland Reflector trotted to a win in a junior drivers' race at Oamaru on January 8.

The penny may have dropped with Three Strangers after the Brian Norman-trained mare picked up her second successive win yesterday.

The daughter of Thanksgiving took 22 starts to break maiden ranks by the time driver Dexter Dunn saluted at Gore on December 27, but backed up her Gore success with a 3 length win on the big Wyndham track.

The field was stretched out when Flashlite was sent out to a 10-length lead by Nathan Williamson, but that margin was chewed up with 400m to go. Once Dunn cleared some tiring horses, Three Strangers trotted past Jenny's Rubee to win in a time of 3.08.5 for the 2400m trip.