Queensland harness racing wrap

Catch up on the week’s harness racing action in our weekly review, thanks to Darren Clayton.

THE GOOD

First held in 2002 as the Gold Coast Cup when raced at the Parklands, Saturday night’s Queensland Cup at Albion Park was the 21st running of the Group 2 feature.

Securing his victory to claim back-to-back wins in the race, Mach Da Vinci (Art Major) joined some wonderful names of harness racing as dual winners of the race.

At the top of that list is the incomparable Blacks A Fake, who won the race on three successive occasions from 2008-2010.

The second win by Mach Da Vinci puts his name alongside Colt Thirty One, Avonnova, Be Good Johnny and the inaugural winner, Double Identity, as dual winners of the race – as either the Queensland Cup or Gold Coast Cup.

In claiming the victory, driver of Mach Da Vinci, Leonard Cain, also secured his second win in the race, having won the 2020 edition when driving Cruz to victory.

Trainer Shane Graham had a firm hold on Saturday night’s feature, preparing both Turn It Up and Mach Da Vinci for the event, opting to take the reins aboard Turn It Up.

With Turn It Up starting favourite from the race from barrier seven, Graham speared the seven-year-old off the arm with his blinding gate speed and by the first turn was in front.

With a steady lead time of 36.7 seconds, Blacksadance was the first to make a move, easing up to sit outside the leader as Mach Da Vinci secured the perfect trail in behind the speed.

With no change to the order after an opening half covered in splits of 29.2 and 28.9, it was Blacksadance that was first to flinch, starting to feel the pressure with 400 metres to travel through a third split of 27.4.

Turning for home there looked to be only two winning chances and as Cain angled his runner to the outside, the stage was set for a two horse battle up the stretch.

Turn It Up tried valiantly to cling on, but Mach Da Vinci made the most of his opportunity, cruising by to claim a three metre winning margin and push his career stake earnings past $300,000 with the victory.

The win also provided connections of Mach Da Vinci with an Inter Dominion Golden Ticket, the win securing an exemption from ballot and entry to the upcoming series that begins in Victoria later this month.

Cain’s victory in the Group 2 feature also provided the reinsman with his 100th victory this season, which is the second time in his career that he reached triple figures, with his benchmark of 102 claimed in the 2021 season likely to be exceeded in the current term.

Proving to have a great affinity with Mach Da Vinci, Cain is now unbeaten in four drives aboard the five-year-old.

THE BAD

Having just returned earlier in the week from a 10 day suspension, the nation’s leading driver Pete McMullen again fell foul of the stewards on Saturday night, incurring a nine day ban.

With his lead in the national drivers title race slipping during his previous suspension, the latest ‘holiday’ comes with McMullen sitting on 228 wins for the term and holding a 14 win lead over West Australian, Gary Hall Jnr.

In the Queensland title race, McMullen still holds a lead of 34 wins over Nathan Dawson, with both drivers completing a treble on Saturday night, however, Dawson can claim honours, with all three of his victories coming at Group level.

McMullen was at his best early in the night, securing victory in the first three races on the card, with the treble soured with the suspension which followed from an indiscretion in the first race.

Finding the space to angle away from the inside aboard race favourite Uncle Shank, McMullen forced another runner wider with the movement which led to the suspension.

Sending Uncle Shank around to the front soon after the mile marker, the speedster was able to score a 3.5 metre victory in a sharp 1.53.9 rate for the middle trip.

McMullen then scored an all the way victory aboard Ashark for visiting trainer Melanie Elder in race two and made it three from three with a gritty win aboard the Chantal Turpin trained Itz Cherokee Jack in The Bill Dixon.

Nathan Dawson clawed back the margin with wins aboard Majestic Harry (Majestic Son) in the Trotters Spring Sprint for Darrel Graham and then a slick all the way win, aboard Speed Dating for Shawn Grimsey.

The treble was completed when Uptown Beachgirl held on for a narrow victory in the Sunshine Stars Yearling Sale 3YO Fillies Classic, leading throughout for trainer Donny Smith.

THE WILDCARD

After placing in all three of the Trotting Features held through the Constellations Carnival, where he was beaten a collective five metres, the disappointment of going so close was erased with Majestic Harry’s victory in Saturday’s Trotters Spring Sprint.

The win not only provided the five-year-old with the winner’s purse of the Group 2 event, but connections also secured the Golden Ticket that was on offer for the winner, granting automatic entry for the upcoming Inter Dominion Series in Victoria.

A victim of circumstance the week prior when carted back through the field soon after the start, driver Nathan Dawson made his own luck on Saturday, sending Majestic Harry straight to the front from barrier three.

With Sugarinspice eventually releasing to take the trail through a first quarter in 27.8, Dawson was able to back off the tempo with a 31 second panel.

Regal Attire had sat outside the leader for much of the race and following a 28.7 third split, was under pressure, as were those chasing and swinging for home, the only danger looked to be Sugarinspice.

In for the fight, the Darrel Graham-trained Majestic Harry was able to see it out with a half-head margin over the Pete McMullen-trained Sugarinspice, claiming a new career personal best of 1.55.8 with the victory.

Connections will now take up the Golden Ticket offer and with part-owner Brittany Graham likely to have Sky Racing commitments during the Inter Dominion Series, can she hold the microphone and the reins at the same time?

THE MILESTONE

It may not have been a Group race or carried the greatest prize money, however there was plenty of harness racing royalty involved with the win of The Sportz Star (Sportswriter) on Sunday night at Redcliffe.

Five-year-old gelding The Sportz Star, broke through for his first Queensland victory at his 10th attempt, with the names Geeson, Butt and Manning all appearing in the results.

The Sportz Star is owned by Kerryn Manning, a holder of multiple driving records, including the most career victories of any female, and most wins in a single season by a female, set in the 2002-03 season when steering home 371 winners.

Sending the gelding north to good friend Gail Geeson, it has been a work in progress getting The Sportz Star to find the winners enclosure.

With the benefit of the inside barrier, driver Riley Butt pushed The Sportz Star through off the gate and by the first turn had maintained the advantage and had the gelding in front of the pack.

Controlling the speed, Butt was able to secure a 61.1 second opening half and then held on through the closing stages to claim victory by a head margin over the fast-finishing Kanye Crusader.

The win was the eighth career victory for The Sportz Star, with Butt sitting behind the gelding for the first time on Sunday and pushing his own season to 22 driving wins with seven weeks of the season remaining.

For Geeson, it was her sixth win for the season, with previous wins secured by Fire And Ice and Candykane, moving just one win shy of husband Vic Frost, currently on seven wins.

THIS WEEK

Six meetings will be held in Queensland this week, starting with the nine race card from The Creek on Tuesday afternoon.

The Tuesday fixture will be complemented by a Friday afternoon card and the Saturday night metropolitan fixture.

Saturday’s card kicks off at 5.19pm with race 10 at 10pm, where a field of six free for all performers will compete.

Redcliffe will host eight races on Wednesday night and back it up with a further ten on Thursday afternoon.

Marburg ends the week where the Graham Harriott Memorial has been inserted into the programme following its abandonment from the meeting on October 23.