When seriously major races loom large on the horizon, punters typically target their focus on one, or perhaps two, lead-up contests in their bid to highlight future feature winners.

Unsurprisingly, these events are almost exclusively the fast class pacing and trotting events on Melton’s metropolitan card.

On Saturday night at Tabcorp Park, half the meeting’s 10 events harboured lessons and learnings for either October’s Victoria Cup or the dual-gaited Inter Dominion series which begins one month later.

And it all started with the opening event of the evening.

Without doubt, this was the strongest and deepest high-class Claimer since that race-type was reintroduced earlier this year.

Nevertheless, few would have predicted just how impressive its winner, Sirletic (pictured), would ultimately prove to be.

Back in the care of Emma Stewart for the first time in almost six years – yes, that’s right, six years – Sirletic sat last following an electric early-tempo and exploded late to prevail by 20m against quality opposition.

So visually spectacular was the effort that legendary race caller Dan Mielicki was moved to suggest Sirletic may well be a 20 to 1 chance for the Inter Dominion following what he’d just witnessed.

And Mielicki doesn’t say such things without foundation or consideration.

One race later, Craig Demmler’s exciting five-year-old mare Ofortuna beat rivals of her own gender, but did so recording times which suggest she, and also perhaps Baltica, could play their roles in the ID series for trotters.

Then we had the Westburn Grant Free For All.

For most, the first pacing golden ticket event for this year’s ID represented a chance to celebrate the unique talents of Honolua Bay in what otherwise seemed a predictably uneventful affair.

Nothing could have been further from the truth.

Made to work overtime through the first four furlongs, Honolua Bay triumphed but only by recording a freakish mile rate of 1:53.2min with Tango Tara and Torrid Saint charging at him late.

For context, that time is equal to what Lennytheshark recorded winning the 2017 Vic Cup and also what Max Delight stopped the clock at winning last year’s edition of the same event.

They didn’t go much slower in the Melton Pace Final – 1:54min – which tells you just how close horses like Yambukian and Spring In His Step are to the elite, while Vacation Hill also indicated she can claim an ID heat at least if she found the front with her pillar-to-post Maori’s Idol success.


In last Friday’s harness racing column, the point was made that short-priced favourites aren’t always what they seem.

On Saturday night at Melton, five races were dominated by odds-on popular elects.

Four of them went under.

Honolua Bay was the only hot favourite to prevail.

If you’re willing to do your form and you play the game wisely, what we often call “prohibitive” prices aren’t so prohibitive at all.


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.