Open-class star Bay Of Biscay is back and ready to clash with Bulletproof Boy in a highly anticipated return.
It is fitting Bulletproof Boy clashes with Bay Of Biscay in Saturday night’s 2240m free-for-all as the former prepares to head to Perth for the $1.25 million Group 1 Nullarbor on April 17.
A quarter crack early this year prevented Bay Of Biscay from being a very worthy participant in races like the Hunter Cup, Miracle Mile and Nullarbor.
Fresh from winning his four-year-old category in the recent Victorian Horse of the Year awards (and surely getting a few votes for the top award), Bay Of Biscay will have his first start since a ripper fifth to Kingman (Leap To Fame was third) in the Group 1 Victoria Cup on October 18.
Go back three starts and Bay Of Biscay scored his biggest win in the world’s richest harness race, the $2.1mil TAB Eureka, at Menangle on September 6.
It capped a relatively light but very successful four-year-old season where Bay Of Biscay also won the Group 1 Chariots of Fire at Menangle on March 1.
Bay Of Biscay has raced just 22 times for 12 wins, seven seconds, two thirds and banked $1,864,580.
“He had a quarter crack a few months back, and only time can heal them,” managing part-owner Tim Bunning said. “There’s no way we’d rush a horse like him and he just wasn’t going to be ready for big early races.
“The quarter crack has grown out and he seems great again now.
“Clayton (Tonkin) says he’s come back as good, if not better, than before and he worked really well last Friday.”
Bay Of Biscay has had two trials and looked very sharp winning the latest of them at Melton last Tuesday week.
He beat star stablemate Fox Dan, who ironically also ran second to him in the TAB Eureka, by three metres in a slick 1min55.6sec mile rate for 2240m and dashed home in 54.7 and 26.6sec.
“He’s ready to go now,” Bunning said. “He was entered to run at Wagga last week, but the conditions of that Riverina series have changed and he wasn’t eligible.
“It’s a small field (six starters) this week, but a good field with Bulletproof Boy drawn to lead and Fighter Command in there, too.
“I heard Scotty (Ewen, trainer) say he wants Bulletproof Boy to hold the lead from (gate) three, so it’ll be a tactical race with our guy drawn out in six and Fighter Command in five.
“You could argue they’re Victoria’s three best pacers, so I’m surprised they’ve scheduled it as the last race of the night at 10.15pm.”
Bunning said the obvious longer term target with Bay Of Biscay was the Brisbane Inter Dominion July.
It shapes like one of the strongest Inter Dominions for many years, especially with the depth of talent in the pacing ranks.
Leap To Fame, Kingman, Swayzee, Don Hugo, The Janitor are just some of the big names Bay Of Biscay is likely to face.
