No set pre-race plan for Blacks A Fake favourite

There’s a fair chance brotherly love will be cast aside when the proverbial whips are cracking in Saturday night’s Group 1 $400,000 The Blacks A Fake Queensland Championship at Albion Park. 

The country’s boom pacer Leap To Fame (Bettor’s Delight) (barrier 9) is drawn to follow out his older half-brother Swayzee (Rock N Roll Heaven) who has drawn perfectly In the number two alley and the first 400 metres of the Grand Circuit event promises to be a fascinating watch. 

Grant Dixon indicated he has no set pre-race plan for the early stages of the race. 

“I will play it by ear,” Dixon said. 

Fans of the $1.35 favorite would have been reassured with Dixon’s assessment of the four-year-old. 

“He is really good and all I’ve done during the carnival is keep him ticking over,” he said. 

Dixon is in the enviable position knowing his stable star is capable of settling in or near the lead or coming from the rear of field with a race winning finale as he showed in last week’s Group 1 Sunshine Sprint. 

“He is such a great racehorse and I thought he ran through the line really well last week,” he said. 

Meanwhile gun young NSW reinsman Cameron Hart is delighted with the allocation of barriers. 

“If I had a pick of the barriers I would have chosen two so I couldn’t be happier with the draw with only one horse to cross,” Hart said. 

“He doesn’t fly the gate but he can hold his own at the start and then hopefully work to the front and then it’s a case of weighing up the tempo. 

And you have to have options A and B if things don’t go according to plan.” he said. 

Swayzee has been a revelation unbeaten in five starts since joining the Jason Grimson stable three months ago. 

“He has just kept stepping up with each run for Jason,” he said. 

The son of Rock N Roll Heaven displayed his considerable staying prowess when he sustained a three wide run without cover for the final 900 metres in taking out the Mr Feelgood Open Pace a fortnight ago. 

“The 2680 metres will suit him, the longer the better and he is capable of rolling out strong sectionals,” he said. 

“Leap To Fame is a great horse but I think we can make a race of it.” 

For complete race entries, click here.

by John Dunne, for Harnesslink