Bronte Nieuwenburg is helping out Tim O’Connor this week, picking her favourite highlights from the harness racing week that was and what’s ahead…
THE HERO
MAXY BOMBER OPENS THE VICBRED OWNERS VOUCHER SCHEME
The Vicbred Owners Voucher Scheme got underway on Monday night at Terang, and despite wet conditions, Maxy Bomber emerged victorious for Ashleigh and James Herbertson. Bred, owned, and trained by Ashleigh, the win earned the Herbertsons a $5,000 voucher, which can be used to purchase a Vicbred Pure or Vicbred Platinum nominated yearling at Victorian sales, or to cover the cost of a service by a Victorian-registered sire, provided the mare is bred and foals in Victoria.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THEVICBRED OWNERS VOUCHER SCHEME
To make the victory even more special, James Herbertson was proudly wearing the PCFA colours.
For every winner driven by Michael Bellman and James Herbertson throughout September, HRV will donate $200 to PCFA.
The Victorian trots community is proud to support Prostate Cancer Awareness Month by joining forces with the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia through The Long Trot.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE LONG RUN OR DONATE
#thelongtrots #thelongrun
HOW GOOD WAS…
RYAN PHELAN’S TIPPING ON SATURDAY NIGHT
It pays to watch and listen to HRV’s wagering information spaces.
Since last Monday, Darren Carroll has tipped 7/13 winners on his HRV Best Bet socials, with three close seconds, two fourths, and a fifth among the remaining runners. Great job as always Darren!
Ryan Phelan was brilliant in the tipping space on Saturday night, overall tipping 7/10 winners.
Ryan’s Game Plan:
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$300 Win #5 Hes From Heaven – tipped on Sky and SEN as his Best Bet – started $2.70
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$100 Win #6 Imperial Command – a runner also tipped by Andy and Ryan Sanderson on Burning Questions as their best bet on the card – started $2.10 (tipped at $4.20)
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$100 Win Centofellie – finished 4th
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$500 6/*5 In An Ideal World / 9/*4 Fox Dan / 10/*6 Storms Collide – tipped at $4.30 on SEN on Friday, with starting odds $2.15.
CAN’T WAIT FOR THIS!
THE EUREKA
The 2025 TAB Eureka is this Saturday night, and it’s shaping up to be a cracking event.
The field for the $2.1m TAB Eureka at Menangle is set, featuring a record four runners from Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin, including exciting three-year-old Go Miki, who has won four straight starts this campaign. Remarkably, six of the 10 runners are three-year-olds, highlighting the strength of this age group in the world’s richest harness race.
First thoughts on the barrier draw:
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Seathestars is the real winner with the Ace draw. With excellent gate speed, Will Rixon will be able to make an early decision that best suits his runner.
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Pre-barrier draw, Go Miki was my best in the race, but he gained the tricky barrier six. Expert reinsman Mark Pitt knows how to handle big race pressure and will give him every opportunity.
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Fighter Command got the best barrier of the four-year-olds (eight). He definitely has the ability to take this out, and wouldn’t it be fantastic to see him win!
KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR…
A Jess Tubbs Special!
Not only is talented trainer Jess Tubbs preparing Fighter Command in the TAB Eureka, she’s also preparing Tappy in the Logical Staffing Solutions Tatlow Stakes at Melton, where he drew one and is my top selection. Tubbs also has three other highly competitive runners in that meeting: Triple Eight, Golden Shooz, and Rocknroll Hammer.
POP THIS IN YOUR DIARY
NUTRIEN EQUINE CLASSIC RACE SERIES – TROTTERS
On Wednesday night (August 3), the Nutrien Equine Classic Race Series heats for trotters take place at Bendigo. Six heats cover trotters aged two to four across the card, featuring some exciting up-and-coming runners. I’m particularly looking forward to the contest between last-start Group 2 Qbred 2yo Trotting Final winner Iconic Image and the promising young prospect Hammer in race seven.
ONE FOR THE BLACK BOOK
MIDNIGHT MOTH
If you missed it, go watch Moonlight Moth’s career debut in race 7 at Bendigo last Wednesday. He galloped out of contention, caught the field not once but twice in the run, and still finished second. You see this occasionally with a trotter, but very rarely with a pacer.
SOMETHING TO PONDER…
What is it exactly that is making standardbreds run faster and faster? When I was younger, breaking a two-minute mile was a huge deal. So is it breeding, the tracks, our drivers, or the sulkys? And how much faster will standardbreds be running in 20 years’ time?
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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.
