The Race to Royalty hots up this Saturday Night when we head off to Bray Raceway in Ballarat for all the Semi-Finals of the Breeders Crown. Its shapes up as a fabulous night of racing as Harness Racing’s brightest young stars take centre stage.
As has been the norm over the past couple of years it shapes as another fascinating Australia vs New Zealand war and leading the charge for the locals is none other than Emma Stewart. She has 7 runners across the semi-finals and the outstanding Whereibylong in the Graduate free for all.
The first of their runners in the Semi’s is Celebrity Guest in Race 2, she has drawn awkwardly outside of the back row. Speaking to trainer Emma’s Partner Clayton Tonkin he said that she might face a task ask from where she is drawn “she has a nice turn of foot and she is a nice little filly but she sort of needed a bit better barrier draw to be in the mix.”
The brilliant filly Heavens Trend and Whirily School go around in Race 3 and they come up against a Unbeaten super Kiwi from the All-stars stable in Our Dream about Me. It should be a cracking race but Tonkin, although wary of Our Dream About Me, is confident Heavens Trend will be hard to beat, “The NZ horse has massive wraps and is a super filly, but our filly is as good a filly as we’d hope and we have the barrier draw over them which makes it an advantage but it will be a good test.” Whirily School has drawn awkwardly and Tonkin thinks that will make the job pretty tough, “she has done a good job this season but I think against these sorts of fillies she needed a bit better barrier draw but she will still run a good race”
Their next runner on a massive night for the stable is Starburst Girl in the 3yo fillies division. Drawn gate 4 up against last year’s 2yo winner Katy Perry Tonkin is quietly confident she can run a nice race, “she is going good actually, she has had a big season and has a good turn of foot, she hasn’t got a bad barrier draw and I think she will run a pretty good race.”
The 1st semi of the 2yo C&Gs series sees the Vicbred winner Shadow Sax take on Born to RocknRoll and Tonkin has been highly impressed with this son of Shadow Play and nominates him as the pick of the night, “I really like him as a horse, he hasn’t drawn real good but he is a great racehorse, he can go forward driven tough, you can drive him with a sit as he is real versatile. I think he will go really good and I reckon he is our best hope for the night”
In Race 8 the Mares Graduate Free For All and Whereibylong will be mighty hard to beat. A winner of the 2yo fillies division of the Breeders Crown two seasons ago she has gradually got better at each of her 3 runs back from a long spell and was quite awesome winning all the way last start “She has 3 runs back now to sharpen her up, she has another good draw over the mile so makes it a big advantage but she is getting back to where she needs to be.”
In the last of the Semis Stewart has 2 fillies engaged with Tonkin clearly heading towards Lovelist as his better chance but concedes both his runners will find it a hard ask taking on the New Zealand Superstar Our Orange Agent “Lovelist has a good barrier draw so if she can find the back of the good NZ horse hopefully she weighs in and The Stunning One has come back from a long spell where she had an injury but she is going to be right up against it from where she is drawn”
Other highlights of the night include the NZ star Our Waikiki Beach trying it make it 11 straight in Race 4 at 7.02pm and the clash of Menin Gate and Follow the Stars in Race 7 at 8.30pm. It will be a bumper night and the first of 10 kicks off at 5.27pm.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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