Everything you thought you knew about the established top order of Australasian harness racing has been thrown into further disarray by Saturday night’s Sunshine Sprint at Albion Park.
Going into the Group 2 event Soho Tribeca was hot favourite and widely regarded as the nation’s pre-eminent pacer.
Most believed that success in the Sunshine Sprint and next week’s Blacks A Fake would confirm that fact and set up a magical meeting with Chicago Bull in Melbourne’s Inter Dominion series.
Sadly though, a fractured leg sustained when trying desperately to overcome a cluttered run on Saturday night will see Soho Tribeca off the racing scene for a prolonged period.
While his was the seminal story to come from the Sunshine Sprint it wasn’t the only one.
Unlike Soho Tribeca, Miracle Mile king My Field Marshal did not sustain a serious injury but did produce one of the worst races of his career; dropping out badly after working hard in transit.
At this stage he is pushing on to Saturday Night’s $200,000 Blacks A Fake but with an obvious cloud surrounding him after such a performance.
The good news narrative from Brisbane’s feature weekend sprint was the winner Tact Tate.
Off the scene for some time following a misdiagnosed injury Amanda Turnbull’s gifted ambush artist had produced encouraging runs at his two efforts back this time in.
But he went to another level when blazing off the arm to lead and then trail before sprinting home with purpose for his biggest ever success.
Part owner Steve Salter, who made the trek from Melbourne to witness ‘Mighty Mouse’s’ big win, was full of praise for the entire team behind the comeback kid.
“I came up here with hope more than expectation; all we wanted was to see him back somewhere near his best,” Salter said.
“All credit goes to Nathan (Jack) and Amanda for getting him back and also for an inspired drive – we have had so much fun with this horse and I can only hope there’s plenty more to come.”