5 August 2021
It’s been another big week of racing right across the state. So much to get through so let’s get stuck in. Here’s how the week in Harness Racing across New South Wales played out!
The Vintage 1500 Collection
Step right up. Step right up. If it’s driver’s career winning milestones you’ve come looking for then we have a range of options for you to consider. Here we can offer you the 1500 variety. It’s from our vintage collection. Perfectly aged and cured in the finest traditions of the harness racing industry. We’ve got the Glenn McElhinney 1500, bottled and sealed in Menangle on Saturday night. Or from the same shelf there’s the Bernie Hewitt 1500. It features strong mountain tones and western region notes with a subtle city flavour. Fermented over decades in a Bathurst vat, this is the true testament to sustained success and achievement. Both outstanding options that can be enjoyed now but will continue to evolve and improve further with age!
The 500 Variety
Extracted from our younger breed, the Cameron Hart 500 edition is a promising drop that has reached the market following much anticipation and build-up across the industry. A progressive run of results has made this batch of goodness available sooner than expected but on-going excellence should see it superseded before long. This label was inked with winners in the first and last at Menangle on Tuesday. Sure to be a collectors item for posterity purposes.
CAMERON HART GETS CAREER WIN NUMBER 500
Future Releases
You can’t buy the Jack Callaghan 200 edition just yet. But supply is coming and surely available very soon. With just one winner left to close the deal on this variety and several opportunities on offer at Menangle on Saturday night, production is being ramped up on what is sure to be a popular release.
Double or Nothing
The drivers were dealing in two’s at Penrith on Thursday night. After Robbie Morris set the standard with an early double, Chris Geary and Lleyton Green said “I’ll have a piece of that action too” and both set about driving a couple of winners each as well. Nine races. Three driving doubles. It seemed to rub off on the trainers as well. The Dean and Kerry McDowell stable went home with two winners. Richie Alchin won the last two on the card. One of those nights!
Wickety Wack
Kootingal driver Sarah Rushbrook is finding unusual ways to land winners in Tamworth. As we highlighted in The Sprint Lane a couple of weeks ago, Sarah was awarded victory through an overturned decision back on July 22. On Thursday she won again in the first at Tamworth with Our Bushwacker – this time in a dead heat! As they say in the classics – or somewhere classic – take the wins any way you can!
SEE SARAH GO WACK AT TAMWORTH
The Olympic Omen
After the stellar performance of our female swimmers in Tokyo earlier in the day – a day when Emma McKeon put a space on them in the 100m freestyle final – Betterthantheboyz was looking like the omen bet of the night at Wagga on Friday. It turns out there is zero correlation between the two though, with Amy Day steering Jacks Last Hoo Raa to a three metre victory for Len Clement.
SEE JACKS LAST HOO RAA WIN AT WAGGA
Family Rivalry?
Have we got a genuine family rivalry in play now in the Formosa household? After the rousing entry into racing made by teenage sensation Chloe Formosa a fortnight ago at Newcastle, has she laid down the gauntlet to her Dad Michael? He’s responded like the true champion he is, landing winners in both the first and third on the program at Newcastle on Friday night. This could get interesting!
WATCH MICHAEL FORMOSA NOTCH A DRIVING DOUBLE
Blake Goes Stop! Hammertime!
There were mid-90’s Oz Indie rock flashbacks circulating on Saturday night when Caligula delivered for Blake Fitzpatrick in the Trotters Winter Cup Final. Caligula pumped out a belter of a cover of the Smokey Robinson hit Tears of a Clown which found its way onto the ARIA charts. Perhaps it was a sign of musical progression when it raised a metaphoric U Can’t Touch This and edged out Drop The Hammer. Interestingly, Troy Williams’ gelding In The Valley – the name of one of Midnight Oil’s very much underrated tunes from the same era rounded out the placings. How good was 90’s live music …
SEE CALIGULA WIN THE WINTER CUP FINAL
If the Cap Fitz
It’s been a good week for the Fitzpatrick’s at Menangle. Try this on for size. Blake drove and trained three winners. Paul trained two. And Gavin jagged a winner too.
From Dusk Til Dawn
Speaking of family connections, last week we couldn’t fault the performance of Mitch Turnbull on Myra Dawn. So much so, we gave him our inaugural drive of the week sticker. So with welts from neck to torso from all the congratulatory back-slapping he received during the week, Mitch braved the pain and the burden to go out and get the job done once again in the fourth at Parkes. It was a Turnbull-a-thon too. Mitch drove that one for his Dad Steve. He beat home his brother Nathan. While his sister Amanda was in the seat for the other sibling Josh on Lucky Lyla.
WATCH MYRA DAWN WIN AT BATHURST
All’s Well That Ends Well
A nasty incident in the last event at Young on Tuesday evening left everybody in the industry with major concern for all involved. But we are happy to report that both horse and driver have come out of it relatively unscathed. After being inspected by on-course paramedics, Matt McCaffery, Jimmy Locke and Mat Rue were all given the thumbs up and cleared of injury. Although all three horses had superficial cuts and bumps, they should all make a full recovery. Mat Rue even went on to record a winning double the following night in Bathurst.
Luckless Runner of the Week
Brett Hutchings should literally know every inch of the Parkes Paceway. Not only does Hutchings train his small team of pacers on the 800 metre circuit, he is also the club’s track curator. Widely regarded as being very hard to beat at ‘home’, Brett found himself on the other end of the spectrum after being ‘caught in a trap’ aboard mare Old Farm Way at the Parkes meeting on Friday night. After securing the sweet leaders back trip early, Old Farm Way was full of steam when it came to making her winning bid. But due to heavy traffic issues, Hutchings had no other option but to put the whip away and wait for next week when things didn’t quite open up.
WATCH OUR LUCKLESS RUNNER OF THE WEEK
Drive of the Week
This week’s DOTW goes to the ‘King of Canberra’ Scott Osmond for his Peach of a drive aboard locally trained pacer Onetwo Threecheese at Young on Tuesday night. Drawn the perfect trailing barrier, Scott was able to drive thru from gate eight to find the one out and two back position on the tail end of a hot early tempo. Given that he had already navigated a superb map into the race, Osmond jumped aboard the three wide train at the 400 metre mark and hooked even wider at the top of the straight to come with a solid finishing burst and record a 2.3 metre winning margin.
WATCH OUR DRIVE OF THE WEEK
Big Bets
Here’s where some of the bigger bets were had with TAB during the week:
BATHURST (28/7)
OUCH!
$3,000 @ $1.45 on Lochiel
BANG!
$3,000 @ $2.50 on Mach Brilliance
PENRITH (29/7)
OUCH!
$3,000 @ $2.70 on Spock
BANG!
$1,000 @ $2.60 on Miss Daytona
NEWCASTLE (30/7)
BANG!
$2,250 @ $2.30 on Pops Boy
PARKES (30/7)
OUCH!
$3,000 @ $2.15 on Beatboxer
MENANGLE (31/7)
OUCH!
$2,000 @ $4 on Rhianna Reigns
$2,000 @ $2.20 on Affaire De Cover
BANG!
$1,500 @ $2.80 on Never Been Said
$1,000 @ $3.10 on Court On The Edge