Needle takes out Queensland Group 3 feature

The Gary Whitaker trained Muscle Mass mare Needle was a stunning winner of the Group 3 Jim McNeil Memorial Trotters Championship Final at Albion Park on March 3.

The 4-year-old former kiwi trotter put in a huge performance to take out the Queensland feature. Sitting parked for the entire 2,647m race, the up-and-coming square-gaiter still had the audacity to sprint clear on the home turn and hold off  the fast finishing Spirit Walker by two and a half metres at the finish.

The mare has now won seven races, including all four of her Australian race-day starts, for earnings of $52,405.

Bred by Trevor Casey, Needle is out of the Live Or Die mare Una Bromac, making her a half-sister to the multiple Group 1 Derby winning filly Escapee.