Photos: Rachelle Zammit
Out in front: Rebecca Bartley drives Its Ebonynivory to victory in race three.
The first arrival of the Inter Dominion series to the Goulburn Valley coincided with the region’s biggest harness names tasting success.
A healthy crowd was in attendance at Shepparton Harness Racing Club on Tuesday to watch some of the best pacers and trotters in the land go head-to-head.
And multiple Goulburn Valley participants were in the thick of the action.
The evening, which played host to an 11-race card, kicked off with Miss Ex saluting for trainer-driver David Miles, which was followed by talented Shepparton reinsman Mark Pitt driving The Wolf to victory in race two.
Pitt gave the four-year-old mare the perfect drive in the IRT Australia Pace (1690m) as punters cashed in on the $1.70 odds.
But Pitt’s most memorable win came in race five.
Just as the sun lowered behind the grandstand, Pitt drove Mach Dan to victory in the Inter Dominion Pacing Championship (second qualifying heat).
Mach Dan ($3.90) held on ahead of Expensive Ego in a thrilling photo finish.
Mach Dan won in a blistering time of 1:51.9 for the sprint trip.
“He was super sharp,” Pitt told
HRV.com.
“Plan A (to lead) didn’t work out, but plan B was to be one-one behind Expensive Ego and that was how it worked out. (Mach Dan's) a casual customer and I had to wake him up a bit, but once he came off Expensive Ego’s wheel he really knuckled down.”
Shepparton’s David Moran produced one of the biggest results of the night as he steered Honolua Bay to victory in race seven.
Forced to sit three-wide for much of the final lap, Moran finally managed to get away down the back straight and bolted to the line to claim the thrilling victory over Better Eclipse and Bundoran.
The only undefeated horse remaining, Honolua Bay currently leads the standings in the pacing division with 32 points after the two meetings at Ballarat and Shepparton.
“It was a poor drive to say the least, but they backed off so much and so quick (in the second quarter) and I thought being the second heat Greg (Sugars) wouldn’t want a hard run,” Moran told
HRV.com.
“(I) took the risk (to move to the breeze), it didn’t pay off, but he was good enough to get the job done.
“He was absolutely bolting around the last turn … and is starting to really toughen up to that grade.”
Shepparton’s Nathan Jack also enjoyed a relatively successful night in the sulky, with the highlight being a brave victory with Hopeful Beauty in race four.
Along with that triumph he steered Always Ready to a gallant third-placed finish in race 10.
Shepparton Harness Racing Club general manager Ian McDonald said he was thrilled with how the night panned out.
“The feedback we have received is incredible. From both the on-course and off-course experience — we didn’t expect anything like it,” he said.
“The feedback has all been very positive.
“The dining packages, the bar prices, they were all well up on expectations. The quality of the racing too was outstanding.”
The Inter Dominion now prepares for its third night of heats at Geelong on Saturday night.
In the pacing division Honolua Bay, Act Now, Mach Dan, Expensive Ego, Better Eclipse, Narutac Prince, Spirit Of St Louis, Beyond Delight, Bundoran, Zeuss Bromac and Majestic Cruiser have already qualified for the final.
While in the trotting division Just Believe leads the way, with Bolt For Brilliance, Queen Elida, Mufasa Metro and Nephew Of Sonoko rounding out the top five.
