An Easter miracle

It wasn’t until he was in the parading ring for the last race when the significance of the night started to hit harness racing’s Mark Pitt.

He’d already driven eight winners at Launceston last Saturday night and was aboard Captain Rival for a perfect nine wins from nine drives.

“That’s when I got a bit anxious for a moment, but as soon as I went out on to the track I just treated that last race like any other race,” he said.

“He was a great horse to finish the night with. I settled down a long, long way back, but I thought he’d be too good for them coming with one run.

“I thought I had them covered at the 600m. Most were driven along and I still had plenty of horse.”

Captain Rival (by Captaintreacherous) raced away to win by 7.6 metres to cap one of the most remarkable nights the sport has seen in this part of the world.

Pitt’s nine winners smashed the previous best of six wins by a driver at a single meeting.

“It’s something I’ll treasure forever,” he said. “To think I’ve got something up on drivers like Nathan Jack, Chris Alford, Greg Sugars and the late Gavin Lang is pretty amazing.”

Pitt has only been back driving for a few months after a long stint on the sidelines and said he would always be indebted to Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin for their support.

“They were often in touch when I was on the sidelines and that meant a lot because it was really hard at times,” he said.

“I had a great relationship with them before my time out, it’s more like a friendship. I knew I’d have their support when I came back and I couldn’t have asked for a better return.”

Stewart’s  (and Tonkin’s) nine training wins also broke the record of eight at a single meeting in Australia.

It’s yet another slice of history the powerhouse combination of Australia’s training ranks has banked through more than a decade of dominance.

To Pitt’s credit – and Jack has been the same – he didn’t want to reflect on his time on the sidelines.

“It’s all about looking ahead for me and nights like that are why,” he said. “I’ve got some great support around me and a lot to look forward to.”

And he’s already set a record we’re never likely to see beaten.

Back to Stewart and Tonkin and they look set to continue their rampage in the Mildura Cup this week.

They have key runners in both heats tonight with Our Millionaire a hot favourite in heat one and Phoenix Prince in the second heat.

It is lucky Catch A Wave’s owner Richard Matthews is a passionate harness man, because that’s the only reason last year’s champion two-year-old opened his season with a win in yesterday’s $25,000 Tontine Pacing Championship at Hamilton.

“I didn’t know the race was on. It was Richard who rang me and asked if I’d consider taking him there,” Gath said.

“We planned to run him at Melton last weekend, but the race didn’t stand-up, so this became a good option.

“He needed a run before we head into the Australian Gold heats.”

The Australian Gold Bullion three-year-old heats are at Bendigo on May 5 ahead of the $125,000 final at Melton on May 14.

Catch A Wave (by Captaintreacherous) made a one-act affair of yesterday’s Tontine after buzzing across from gate five to lead, getting a tad keen and times and racing clear to win by 11.6m in a slick 1:55.1 mile rate, just 1.3 seconds outside the track record.

As good as he looked last season, especially in that Breeders Crown final, Catch A Wave always looked raw and as though he would develop into an even better three-year-old.

It’s great to see him back with such an emphatic win.

Jason Grimson was somewhat of an unknown on a national level when he won last December’s Inter Dominion pacing final (on protest) with Boncel Benjamin.

But the young Menangle trainer is now a major force.

The job he’s done with former Victorian pacer Majestic Cruiser is just the latest example.

Majestic Cruiser produced the run of the race when a mighty second to NZ’s best pacer Self Assured in last Thursday night’s $NZ900,000 The Race at Cambridge.

Then he returned “home” to the Riverina for three wins, including the Group 1 Riverina Championship final with Ideal Dan.

Grimson’s success at rejuvenating or improving horses from other stables, including top barns, has been remarkable.

He is a private person and shy by nature, so Grimson doesn’t get or seek the publicity he deserves.

But he’s just what the sport needs.

And while we’re on Grimson, he is a shining example of the importance of the Menangle training complex and the need for other states to plan for the same thing to ensure the future of the sport.

As Jack Trainor, another youngster excelling from the Menangle complex said: “It’s a game changer for people like Jason (Grimson), myself and others who couldn’t afford to buy our own property. Even if we’d trained out of somebody else’s property, we’d be restricted in what numbers we could have.”

Remember, Grimson and Trainor would now sit behind only Team McCarthy as the most influential metropolitan stables in NSW.

By Adam Hamilton