20 October 2020 | Duncan Dornauf for Tasracing
Tuesday marks 15 years since the first race meeting on the current Elwick track in Hobart.
There had been many meetings held on the thoroughbred track over many years, before the move from the main track at the Royal Hobart Showgrounds.
The first meeting was held on Hobart Show Day 2005 and saw the Barrie Rattray-trained Queen Carey fly around to score with Gareth Rattray in the sulky by 10.5 metres over Fleet Express in 1m 56.3s.
It was the last time we saw horses on mainland Tasmania race twice on the one day with horses in races two and three lining up again in the sixth and final race that day.
A lot has changed since, including the addition of a sprint lane, but the track still holds the title of hosting the richest harness race in the world, when Blacks A Fake scored in the $1.5 Million Inter Dominion Grand Final in 2006.
The quality of horses contesting tonight’s tier two meeting may not get to that Inter Dominion level, but it is still a strong eight-race card where Beauty Point trainer Kyle Pratten will be hoping his five-year-old mare can bounce back into the winners list from the pole draw in the third race, a rating 46 to 55 ever for mares.
“She has been unlucky with her draws since I have had her, she has led from seven, so I’m hoping she will hold from the pole,” said her trainer-drive Kyle Pratten.
“She is a better horse in front,” said Pratten, with the mare’s only win this season being when able to lead at Redcliffe on 23 February which was the last time the mare drew barrier one.
At Aunty Bessy’s last start effort, she failed to beat a runner home in Devonport on 9 October.
“It was a terrible run, I don’t think she handled the track that well, it was a heavy track and the weather prior made it even worse,” explained the trainer-driver.
“I think it is a very heavy track, I have driven on a lot of tracks around Australia, and I reckon Devonport is one of the heaviest,” Pratten added.
“She has worked pretty well this week, I recently purchased Im Full Tilt and she went toe to toe with him the other day,” said Pratten.
Im Full Tilt will be having his first start for the Pratten stable in the seventh race for entires and geldings rated 46 to 55.
“Mark Yole had him up for sale, I had driven him a few times when he was at Ben (Yole’s), and I thought he had been going well,” explained Pratten who also takes the drive.
“He only got beaten just over six metres in Devonport last start after being three-wide for a lap and a half,” said the trainer-driver.
“He hasn’t raced at that lower rating for a while, and I’m not fussed with that draw in Hobart because there tends to be that three-wide train that will take him into the race,” said Pratten about the pacer that has drawn barrier five on the second-row in the 2090-metre event.
Tuesday’s meeting will be shown on Sky Racing 1 and Tasracing TV from 18:52.
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