Alchin gets the call up to drive top trotter

It’s hard to believe it’s been almost four years since ace harness racing reinsman Jarrod Alchin has driven the state’s best trotter, Tough Monarch.

After all, Tough Monarch is trained by his younger brother Rickie and although now probably considered in the veteran class, the square-gaiter has raced 83 times for 28 wins, including several group ones.

While Rickie has been campaigning in Queensland for the past couple of months, the stable has continued to rack up the winners in Sydney and Jarrod finally gets his chance to resume his association with Tough Monarch in Race 7 tonight at Menangle.

Jarrod has been content to focus on his training in the past couple of months but will be looking to give Tough Monarch his fourth successive win since resuming from a spell.

Despite being allocated the 40m backmark tonight in a 2300m Trotters Discretionary Handicap over 2300m, Tough Monarch has been installed as a $3 favourite to continue his march towards the Inter Dominion Trotting Championship when it is held in NSW in a couple of months’ time.

Tough Monarch may need to be at his best to win tonight as Darren Hancock’s two ‘gun’ trotters, Drop The Hammer (30m) and Monaro Mia (20m) will be there to keep him honest, while former premiership winner David Aiken is in town from Victoria and has his top trotter Big Jack Hammer (30m) also certain to make his presence felt.

Meanwhile tonight’s feature at Tabcorp Park Menangle is the Group 3 Garrards Ladyship Stakes with Menangle Training Centre stablemates Jack Trainor and Jason Grimson expected to fight out the finish.

Trainor, currently the state’s leading reinsman, will partner Never Been Said ($6) in the $30,600 feature while he has booked Jack Callaghan to partner his other in-form runner Platinum Revolution ($7.50).

Yet Grimson has the $1.40 favourite Rocknroll Angel in the race with Cameron Hart electing to drive the versatile mare instead of last-start winner Uroc Skinny Jeans (Blake Fitzpatrick).

Now trained by Cameron Ross, Uroc Skinny Jeans looked the goods with her 1:52.7 over a strong field last weekend and is $9 to repeat the dose tonight.

“Her work this week has been very good, so I am expecting her to run another good race,” said Ross.

“She is drawn a bit wider than I’d like to go forward, but you don’t really want to go back from there either.”

By Michael Court for HRNSW