Queensland bound stars return to Melton

Champion harness racing trainers Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin will use Saturday night’s (Jul. 1) Melton meeting to fine-tune their raid on Queensland’s riches through most of July.

The first “mega” meeting of the Queensland Constellations is Saturday week, which is headlined by the $350,000 Group 1 Rising Sun, a race Stewart and Tonkin won last year with their sidelined superstar Ladies In Red.

Whether they have a runner this time could hinge on how high-class mare Amore Vita (Art Major) goes first-up from a spell in a small but select 2Construct free-for-all (2240m) at Melton.

Significantly, Amore Vita is a four-year-old and the winners of only two runnings of the Rising Sun in its short history have been the same. The race is restricted to three and four-year-old pacers.

The Kiwi-owned Amore Vita boasts 14 wins from just 29 starts – two of those wins at Group 1 level – but hasn’t raced since finishing second in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Mile at Menangle on February 25.

She has the advantage of pole position on Saturday night, but also steps into genuine free-for-all class for the first time where two of the main dangers are her stablemates, Mach Dan (gate six) and Like A Wildfire (three).

Mach Dan, a dual Newcastle Mile winner, is the class factor and has the services of stable driver Mark Pitt despite his wide draw. His Queensland targets are the $200,000 Sunshine Sprint on July 15 and the

$400,000 Blacks A Fake a week later.

The other major player is Matty Craven’s brilliant five-year-old Bettor Isolate, who is also on trial for a Queensland raid, possibly for the Sunshine Sprint.

Stewart and Tonkin also have the Queensland Oaks in sight with their classy filly Tempting Tigress, who will dominate betting from gate two in race eight at Melton with Pitt aboard.

Many of the potential stars of the Queensland Constellations are already in the Sunshine State and will step-out at Albion Park on Saturday night.

And so many of them will chase the world’s richest harness race, the inaugural $2.1mil TAB Eureka, after Queensland.

The marquee race on Saturday night is the Wondais Mate Open (1660m) where Jason Grimson holds a strong hand with three runners, including his Inter Dominion winner I Cast No Shadow (gate eight), the exciting Major Meister (two) and one-time stable star Majestic Cruiser (10).

There is plenty of depth to the Wondais Mate with local speedster Blacksadance drawn to lead and take a lot of beating from the pole for trainer Chantal Turpin and driver Peter McMullen.

Team McCarthy will also be hoping for an improved showing from Bondi Lockdown from gate nine.

Trainer-driver Grant Dixon opted to leave Australia’s most exciting pacer Leap To Fame at home and go straight into the Rising Sun next week where he is $1.80 prepost favourite.

Leap To Fame is also $3.20 prepost favourite for the TAB Eureka on September 2 at Menangle.

Dixon still holds a strong hand on Saturday night with four runners in the inaugural $53,040 Queensland Sun where the winner is guaranteed a berth in the Rising Sun the week after. His best chance looks to be the classy Tims A Trooper, who needs some luck from inside the back row (gate eight).

Another major Rising Sun contender, Team McCarthy’s Cantfindabettorman, will cap his preparation from gate nine in the third race on Saturday night.

The build-up to Queensland extends to Saturday night’s Menangle meeting where plenty of interest will centre around the clash between Spirit Of St Louis (gate 11) and My Ultimate Ronnie (nine) in the opening race.

Spirit Of St Louis will then head north for the Sunshine Sprint and Blacks A Fake.

My Ultimate Ronnie will back-up a week later against Leap To Fame and others in the Rising Sun.

My Ultimate Ronnie (Soho Standardbreds slot) is one of five runners confirmed so far for the 10 spots in the TAB Eureka. The others are Leap To Fame (Kevin and Kay Seymour slot), Catch A Wave (Cordina Racing), Captain Ravishing (Team Zav) and The Lost Storm (TAB).

For complete race entries, click here.

From Harness Racing Australia