Tim O'Connor picks his favourite bits from the harness racing week that was and the one ahead...
THE HERO
Michael Bellman
The 44-year-old’s 2000th career winner in the sulky might have snuck under the radar for a few Victorians.
Bellman, who started driving in the 1996-97 season, partnered with the Rebecca East-trained She Will Wantano to bring up his milestone moment in the opening race at Mount Gambier on Saturday night.
Well done, Mick. A great achievement.
HOW GOOD WAS...
The Charlton Harness Racing Club, led by president Andrea O'Gorman, deserves a huge pat on the back for another wonderful feature meeting on Sunday.
The action was great on the track, but also fantastic off it with a good crowd hanging around until late in the evening.
The club does a great job of engaging the local community and it really is one of the best days on the Victorian harness racing calendar.
Bravo!
CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS!
Great to have Group 1 racing back at Melton for the first time since the blockbuster Great Southern Star/Hunter Cup meeting on February 1.
This Saturday night’s Aldebaran Park Sumthingaboutmaori Trotting Mares Free For All will be run at the elite level and honours the star squaregaiter who claimed the 2004 Inter Dominion Trotting Championship Grand Final.
KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR...
Good luck to the Victorian competitors in this Saturday night’s Group 1 Tasmania Pacing Cup Final.
Emma Stewart-trained Heza Punk Rocker and Oliver Dan will be driven by James Herbertson and Allan McDonough respectively, with Aaron Dunn’s Hot Deal, David Miles’ Arggghhh and John and Ewa Justice’s Helluva the other Vics engaged in the $150,000 feature.
Carson Millar-trained Collective Works is the first emergency.
The race will be run at 9.10pm in Hobart.
POP THIS IN YOUR DIARY
A juicy $25,000 First 4 jackpot has been added to the pool for this Saturday night’s Sumthingaboutmaori Trotting Mares Free For All at Melton.
How should we play it? Given the jackpot component, I’ll play fairly wide in the hope of a roughie snatching third or fourth.
Let’s say… 6,7/4,6,7,9/1,4,6,7,8,9,11,12/field
ONE FOR THE BLACK BOOK
Anyone back last week’s horse to follow, Emily Vincent, last weekend? Okay… enough of the self-indulgence.
He’s pretty well exposed and was a winner two starts back, but I reckon My Uncle Stan is worth following into the future.
He came from last with slick sectionals to run seventh on Saturday night and all performances this campaign have been strong.
Rick Cashman’s got a nice one in his stable and I fancy he will be winning again soon.
SOMETHING TO PONDER...
With news this week that the 2025 Inter Dominion finals in Queensland will be run over the long 3157m trip, it got me thinking whether a “marathon” event could work here in Victoria.
As a fan of European hurdle racing, where horses compete over massive journeys, I think there could be a place for a serious long-distance feature on our racing calendar.
I’m wary we live in a world where the busy Sky Racing schedule means time is of the essence, but a one-off race, run somewhere in the vicinity of 4000m-5000m, would certainly have some intrigue.
Or what about a little circuit of staying races that culminate in a final at headquarters? Something like the “Melton Marathon” has a nice ring to it.
I haven’t drilled too deep on this one, but it’s food for thought…
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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.