Tim O’Connor picks his favourite bits from the harness racing week that was and the one ahead…
THE HERO…
BULLETPROOF BOY
Seriously, what more can we say about this horse?
The people’s champ added to his growing legacy with a second-straight win in Saturday night’s Bendigo Pacing Cup, which was transferred to Melton due to the fires within the region.
His 51st career win came thanks to a pearler of a drive from James Herbertson, who settled in the running line and ducked back to the inside rounding the corner before the 11-year-old launched his big sprint to score.
Think my Mum’s text message immediately after the line sums it up: “Bulletproof Boy, you absolute champion!”.
GREAT TO SEE…
THE ABBY AND ABBEY SHOW
Abby Sanderson and Abbey Turnbull need to be congratulated for their efforts in promoting the Shepparton Harness Racing Club in recent months.
They’ve done some great work with their weekly “Wager Wednesdays” segment and have extended that into building the hype for this weekend’s Shepparton Gold Cup meeting.
And while they’re doing a top job as club ambassadors, we must not forget they do have careers in the sulky! So it’s great that they’ve been rewarded with drives in the Shepparton Gold Cup this Saturday night, with Sanderson set to partner New Yorker for trainer Rebecca Bartley and Turnbull to steer Western Sonador for Stephen O’Donoghue.
They might be running for third behind the stars Kingman and Leap To Fame, but what a huge thrill for two young guns of our sport.
SOMETHING FOR THE DIARY…
CALCUTTAS
The Ballarat and District Trotting Club will host a Calcutta event ahead of its cup meeting next Thursday from 6pm.
It will be the first of three planned Calcutta functions, with others set for Kilmore Harness Racing Club on February 5 and The Rising Sun Hotel in Melbourne on February 12 ahead of the AG Hunter Cup and Great Southern Star.
For more information and to buy raffle tickets, click here.
FREE TO PLAY…
SEN SURVIVOR!
The free SEN Survivor competition will run across each of the Saturday night meetings throughout the Summer of Glory carnival, where entrants can claim $1000 in cash.
And next stop is tomorrow’s Shepparton Gold Cup meeting.
All you have to do is visit www.sensurvivor.com.au, enter your details and tip a horse you think will run a place in every one of the evening’s races.
If your tip places, you survive. Get one wrong and you’re out, with the last person standing being crowned the winner.
JACKPOT…
QUADDIE BOOST!
$20,000 has been added to Saturday night’s Quaddie pot at Shepparton, with the TAB projecting a $100,000 pool.
My suggested play: 2,4/Field/1,3/3,4,5,7
ONE FOR THE BLACK BOOK…
CO CAPTAIN
Think Chris Svanosio’s three-year-old will be breaking through for his maiden win very soon.
Co Captain has been good in both starts to date, with his most recent effort being a runner-up placing behind a smart rival from the Emma Stewart stable at Maryborough on Monday.
Stick with him.
SOMETHING TO PONDER…
Plenty has been spoken about the change made to the Bendigo Pacing Cup distance, with the time-honoured feature run over 1609m for the first time in its history last Saturday night.
And it was interesting to see New South Wales make some dramatic changes to some of their key races this week.
Of note, the time-honoured NSW Derby and NSW Oaks will be run over 1609m this year.
And while it has drawn criticism on social media, I think officials across the border have made a brave decision with the best intentions for the future of our sport.
I’m a traditional old head with most things in life, but running further and taking more time is absolutely not our way forward as we strive to gain new fans and compete with an increasingly busy Sky Racing schedule.
The 1609m Bendigo Pacing Cup was a puzzling, intriguing, exciting and heartwarming race, and the shorter distances generally mean less hand ups and more aggressive racing. That, in my mind, is a great thing.
Of course, we need a balance and there’s so many factors that make for an entertaining event, but I certainly won’t be rallying against more short-course scheduling on our Victorian calendar.
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The opinions expressed in The Forum are those of the author and may not be attributed to or represent policies of Harness Racing Victoria, which is the state authority and owner of thetrots.com.au.
