D-Day has arrived for last year’s TAB Eureka runner-up Fox Dan.
Leviathan owner Danny Zavitsanos desperately wants to use his slot to partner with his own star again in the world’s richest pacing race, but won’t do so on sentiment alone.
Fox Dan must earn the slot or Zavitsanos will look elsewhere for his slot runner.
It would be a bold move giving most have felt Fox Dan a lock for the slot since he ran that slashing second to stablemate Bay Of Biscay in last year’s TAB Eureka.
A few niggling issues have restricted Fox Dan to just 10 starts this year, for three wins, three seconds and a third.
The son of Art Major, who boasts over $730,000 in prize money, made a timely return to winning form in the Group 2 Vicbred 4YO final at Melton on September 19.
Fox Dan has had a few niggles since, but returned with a brave second to classy stablemate Storms Collide at Swan Hill last Friday night.
They smashed the 1750m track record by 1.4sec with a 1min51.1sec mile rate and Fox Dan did all the work outside the winner.
“It was a good run and he looks on target, but he will need to back it up at Melton this week,” Zavitsanos said.
“If you go back to the Vicbred final, he had a lovely run and made the most of it to win the Vicbred, but with so many three-year-olds in this year’s Eureka, he’ll draw wide and won’t get that sort of run.
“I’d love nothing more than to take Fox Dan again, he’s a really special horse to Jo (Zavitsanos, wife) and I because we bred him and he’s out of Jodila, who was the first horse we raced.
“But I have and always will pick the horse I think gives me the best of winning the Eureka and if that’s not Fox Dan, then I’ll go elsewhere.”
Despite winning last month’s Group 1 Victoria Derby with Dynamitedan and having another classy three-year-old in Brooklyn Dan, Zavitsanos said neither would be his TAB Eureka runner.
“No, I’m not glued to using one of my own horses in my slot. Fox Dan is the front runner, but if he doesn’t show he’s where he needs to be, I’ll look at taking an outside horse,” he said.
“The obvious ones are The Last Trip and Cigano, if one of them was still available after this weekend’s racing.
“You’d have to say they both deserve to be in the race on what they’ve done in recent weeks.
“But for now, it’s all about how Fox Dan goes this week and whether he can convince us we should have a crack at going one better than last year with him.”
In other TAB Eureka news, speculation is growing Wayne Loader could opt to exercise a contract clause and take Fate Awaits to run in his Western Jewel slot.
Fate Awaits, who boasts 15 wins and over $820,000 in earnings, ran well below his best when ninth in last year’s TAB Eureka.
Loader partnered with Fate Awaits last year because the pacer was bred at Forbes by Phil and Denise Thurston and Loader is passionate about supporting NSW’s western region as his slot name suggests.
Last year’s deal included first rights to take Fate Awaits again.
It would be a twist given most expected Kevin and Kay Seymour to take Fate Awaits in their own slot.
The only four confirmed TAB Eureka slot runners so far are: Loucasso (Rampant Standardbreds), Double Lou (Tony Licastro), Soho Charmer (Soho Standardbreds) and Bettor Beach (Harnesslink).
Loucasso and Double Lou were both ultra impressive winning their NSW Breeders Challenge finals at Menangle last Saturday night.
Along with Zavitsanos, Seymour and Loader, the other remaining slots are Cordina Racing, Levarg Racing (Team Lee) and Mick Harvey’s Go Racing slot.
