By Adam Hamilton
SO many of the stars of Inter Dominion opening night landed awful draws for round two at Ballarat on Tuesday.
And, to makes those draws worse, these heats are over the sprint trip with a sprint lane having only recently been added to the Ballarat track.
All Stars’ pair Cruz Bromac (gate 11) and Spanken (nine) will start from the back row.
There is a lack of depth in Cruz Bromac’s heat and he’s an early $1.35 favourite on the Aussie TAB, but rest assured it’s a mighty ask to win from that draw in a sprint at Ballarat.
Another opening night winner, Galactic Star, is Cruz Bromac’s best-credentialled rival, but drew even worse in gate 12.
Spankem will be trying to drive through early in a heat where highly-rated locals Wrappers Delight (gate one) and San Carlo (six) look like dominating from the front.
Wrappers Delight only ran fifth on opening night, but didn’t have much luck and was forced very wide around the final bend.
He gets his chance to lead and bounce-back at Ballarat.
That talent-crammed heat also include series’ favourite Tiger Tara, but he drew the worst possible alley (gate 12).
“I’m not worried. We don’t have to win this week. It’s the final we’re here to win,” trainer Kevin Pizzuto said. “He’s good enough to get right amongst it even from that draw.”
Im Pats Delight and trotter Speeding Spur were two Kiwis who snared excellent Ballarat draws.
Im Pats Delight is the Aussie TAB’s $1.65 favourite from gate two in a heat where three of his major rivals are under a form and/or fitness cloud.
Shadow Sax will need to pass a vet check before being allowed to run after pulling up lame after finishing down the track on night one.
Let It Ride’s inglorious night one run left trainer Tim Butt and driver Anthony Butt dumfounded. He’s now in real danger of missing the final after drawing gate 12 at Ballarat.
And Franco Nelson was just fair on opening night as well.
The X-factor in that heat is NSW speedster Joes Star Of Mia, who is a chance of zipping to the front from gate three. He had no luck at all on night one and is a sub-1min50sec winner at Menangle when leading.
The two big guns of the trotting series clash at Ballarat with Speeding Spur (gate five) drawing inside Tornado Valley (seven).
The Aussie TAB has Speeding Spur at $1.65 with Tornado Valley $2.80, but there has been good support for Save Our Pennys ($13 into $7) to upset them both.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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