Alford back for a crack at history

Champion harness racing driver Chris Alford has dashed back from taking on the world’s best in the US for a crack at history with one of his favourite girls.

Alford, who is Australasia’s most successful driver with almost 8000 career wins has driven star mare Amore Vita in 27 of her 31 Australian runs but missed last Saturday night’s Vicbred semi-final win because he was in New York, finishing fifth in the $US1mil Yonkers International on Aussie trotter Aldebaran Zeus.

“He ran a great race, Zeus. He lightened off a fair bit over there and wasn’t quite at his top, so to run fifth was a big effort. I think he’d have run third at his very best,” Alford said.

“It was such a great trip, but I was never going to miss getting back for this (Vicbred) final. It’s pretty special what she (Amore Vita) is chasing this week, and she looks to be going as good, if not better, than ever.”

Four-year-old mare Amore Vita (Art Major) is trying to become just the second female pacer to complete a clean sweep of the Vicbred series, having previously won the two and three-year-old finals with Alford aboard.

“She’s up with the best mares I’ve driven, and I still think the best is ahead for her,” he said.

“Tailamade Lombo and Lombo La Fe Fe are my benchmarks for great mares because they beat older boys in Grand Circuit races, but I think Amore Vita is on her way to doing that. I think she’s good enough.

“She’s so tough and has a great will to win, but she’s also faster than perhaps many people realise.”

Alford takes a line through Amore Vita’s star stablemate, Encipher, who recently upstaged the boys, including Australia’s top-rated pacer Leap To Fame, to win the $2.1mil TAB Eureka at Menangle.

“Why isn’t Amore Vita as good as Encipher? I think she is. Don’t forget she actually sat outside and beat Encipher in the Vicbred final last year,” he said.

“They are a terrific bunch of mares at the moment, and I think Amore Vita has shown she’s as good as any of them.”

After the Vicbred final, connections will have the choice of keeping Amore Vita against her own sex for a string of feature mares’ races or raising the bar and chasing the Group 1 Victoria Cup on October 14.

It’s the same situation for owner Tyson Linke and co-trainers Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin with Encipher.

In a remarkable show of strength, Stewart and Tonkin train eight of the 12 finalists in Amore’s Vita’s Vicbred decider.

They include her three main dangers in betting: Soho Historia ($6.50), Petillante ($7), Talk Time ($11), Dannemora ($16) and Star Celebrity ($71).

For complete race entries, click here.

by Adam Hamilton, for Harness Racing Australia