It’s been an SENTrack Inter Dominion Pacing Championship dominated by females and there’s been nobody more influential than champion horsewoman Emma Stewart.
But there’s one hurdle left to clear before the 40-year-old claims Australasian harness racing’s greatest prize, or as she believes, passes its greatest test.
Stewart’s powerhouse Cardigan stable has plundered the series thus far, with victory in seven of the nine heats at Ballarat, Shepparton and Geelong qualifying five runners for Saturday night’s grand final at Melton.
She has clear favourites for the decider in Honolua Bay and Act Now drawn barriers two and three respectively, with Beyond Delight (five) the other of her runners off the front row. And on the back line is exciting pair Narutac Prince (nine) and Mach Dan (11), who can both win with the right runs in transit.
“It’s always been our Melbourne Cup. It’s something you’ve always wanted to win but it’s awfully hard to do,” Stewart, a winner of more than 100 Group 1 races, said of the Inter Dominion.
“I think it shows all your different strengths and weaknesses going through the heats. It’s a tough series having them up for three heats, then backing them up for the final and with all the different distances.
“It showcases all your horses’ abilities and your training abilities … as a judge of how good you are, I think it’s probably the pinnacle.”
Stewart was hard-pressed to declare a standout chance among her quintet, but eventually sided with the in-form Mach Dan following his heat wins at Shepparton and Geelong.
“It’s hard to say really, because it’s all depending if they get easy leads. If Honolua Bay leads easy he’s probably the one to beat, if not then Act Now is,” she said.
“But I’m still sticking with Mach Dan. I think he’s going to lob handy enough and he’s versatile.”
All nine Inter Dominion pacing qualifiers were won by female trainers, with 10 of the 12 horses in Saturday night’s $500,000 grand final prepared by women. Belinda McCarthy has Spirit Of St Louis and Expensive Ego in the race, while Jess Tubbs (Better Eclipse), Amanda Turnbull (Bundoran) and KerryAnn Morris (Petes Said So) are also represented, and Julie Douglas has the emergency Torrid Saint.
This is in addition to Jodi Quinlan (Act Now), Kerryn Manning (Beyond Delight), Kate Gath (Narutac Prince) and Turnbull (Bundoran) having drives in the great race.
Read more:
ID22 pacing final: The early burn and every runner reviewed
ID22 trotting final: JJ’s big decision and every runner reviewed
TrotsVision team’s expert tips for SENTrack ID22 finals night
