Tiger ‘better than ever’

ID18 champ Tiger Tara warmed up for the quarter of a million dollar Blacks A Fake in Queensland this weekend with an easy win at Menangle on Saturday night.

The Kevin Pizzuto-trained eight-year-old was first-up since March’s Miracle Mile when he led for the bulk of the trip over 2300m for a 4m win over Outrageous El.

“I know this horse so well now. I just felt a hit-out would top him right off for Brisbane,” Pizzuto told Adam Hamilton in a News Limited article at the weekend.

And here’s the hot-take from Kev.

“He’s absolutely flying at home. I’ve got no doubt he’s come back as well, if not better than ever.”

Whoa.

 

Howes honoured

Cobram Harness Racing Club last week honoured Jim Howes, who was the club’s veterinary surgeon at its first ever race meeting in 1955.

Howes was made a life member for his outstanding contribution and Cobram Veterinary Clinic donated the trophy for the Jim Howes Memorial Pace in his honour, reported the Cobram Courier last week.

 

Rail to call Forbury Park

It is great that a former colleague of mine in Craig Rail has secured a gig race calling at Forbury Park in New Zealand.

Rail, who has called races for Harness Racing Victoria for the past 15 years, will be calling at the Dunedin track from next month.

At this stage Rail is standing in while authorities begin recruiting a full-time replacement for departed caller Jason Teaz reports Otago Daily Times, but given his harness knowledge, passion and race calling ability, it is tipped Rail’s one of the leading candidates to take the role permanently moving forward.

While on the subject of Rail, he’s our trials man and he has found two horses in his weekly Trial File report that he thinks will be winning soon.

Each Friday Rail’s Trial File is published at thetrots.com.au with an updated list of Black Book runners to follow.

 

Bathurst waives gate fee

In these days of free Trots Vision, Sky Racing available in homes and pubs and clubs, harness clubs need to offer more than ever to charge a gate fee.

The sports entertainment landscape has changed significantly since the 1980s and Bathurst in New South Wales announced last week that it would throw the gates open to all its meetings – bar major race nights such as the Gold Crown Carnival and Boxing Day.

Removing barriers for families to enjoy the trots gives clubs a better chance to secure an ongoing connection with their audience.

Currently several Victorian clubs are free-entry harness clubs.

 

 

Literally Jokic may be harness’s biggest fan

This one’s a few months old but was pointed out to me on Twitter recently.

For the uninitiated, Nikola Jokic is a big deal – and a big harness racing man.

The Denver Nuggets 24-year-old Serbian NBA star pulls a salary of over $25 million, and at 2.13m in height the sulky seat doesn’t exactly look the most comfortable mode of transport when he’s driving his horse Dream Catcher.

As an NBA superstar, Jokic has enormous reach – even wider than his wingspan which is much wider than the rest of us…

These kinds of big-name allies are just what harness racing needs. This story talks about Jokic taking his coach, Michael Malone, to Sombor race track to jog his horse around the circuit. Enjoy.

 

Big thrill for owners

Congrats to the Ballarat and District Trotting Club Standardbred Group for winning the $20,000 Pryde’s EasiFeed Pace at Tabcorp Park Melton on Saturday night with Beach Garden.

“I’m so excited to win a race on this horse for the syndicate. They don’t have much longer until the lease runs out and I’ve been dying to try and win one, she runs a lot of seconds obviously,” said winning driver Kate Gath, aboard the Geoff Webster-trained mare.

“We thought tonight might be the night … and I’m just so happy for them all.”

Racing horses in big ownership groups is a great way to enjoy the thrills of racing without having to commit to enormous outlays or prohibitive ongoing costs.

It’s great to see clubs and other groups, such as Alabar, encouraging people to get involved with the sport through new ownership group promos, and more and more trainers are seeking expressions of interest from new owners.

 

Popular Poppy

Gun reinsman Greg Sugars is clearly enjoying the ride aboard Fred Spiteri-trained Auntie Poppy.

“She’s one of my favourite horses to drive at the moment. She’s a helluva character,” Sugars said after piloting the six-year-old to a tough win in Saturday night’s TAB Multiplier Winter Trotters Cup Second Heat at Tabcorp Park Melton.

“What Fred must have to put up with during the week, the story he tells me, he deserves every win he gets.

“She’s certainly got a mind of her own and does her own thing and she can be hard work getting her in the cart and sometimes out on the track she can give me a bit of hard time, but come race time she’s just all business.

“She just wants to win. She’s a real thrill to drive.”

Check out Saturday night’s Tabcorp Park Melton results here.