Bagrie’s contenders ready to shine as Cup Week momentum builds

THOMAS’S MAJOR ACT

 Ask any of the top harness racing reinsmen if they recall their first winning race drive and they’ll recite the occasion chapter and verse.

On Sunday, as Thomas Borcoskie brought back his first winner, She’s A Major Act (Art Major), after steering her to victory at the Waimate Trotting Club’s annual meeting at Timaru, he disclosed the auspicious occasion coincided with another event of moment, the birthday of his father, trainer Paul Borcoskie.

“Happy birthday, dad,” he declared, still seated in the sulky behind She’s A Major Act.

For 17-year-old Thomas, that first race victory will always be synonymous with a special Borcoskie family celebration.

It was memorable as well for the many owners of the four-year-old daughter of Art Major and A Christian Act – A Few Good Men Syndicate, Davidson Syndicate, S D Edmond, Off N Racing Yearly 22 Syndicate, Off N Racing Upfront 22 Syndicate, TD Bagrie Limited, Andrew, Kerry & The Bower Syndicate, J Sharp, Mrs J Sharp – who were no doubt eager to applaud Thomas’s driving acumen, too.

SHE’S A MAJOR ACT REPLAY

Thomas is a relatively new member of the Bagrie racing team, joining the group during his school holidays and on other occasions that his availability permits. He will complete his last year at St Bede’s College in 2026 where his cricketing prowess matches his harness racing skills.

The junior driver is also a whitebaiting enthusiast and his colleagues at the Bagrie stable are waiting with interest to see if some of the contents of his net makes its way to the Ohoka smoko table.

Meanwhile, Thomas will travel to South Bay Racecourse, Kaikoura, on Sunday where he hopes to consolidate his winning form on the iconic seaside track.

He will not have long to wait before Playing With Stars (Always B Miki) gives him his first opportunity. Thomas partners the five-year-old mare in race 1 (12.20pm), the Precut Construction Mobile Pace, over 1900m, in which they have the outside front line barrier draw to overcome.

Playing With Stars made her race debut at Kaikoura three years ago and, caught three-wide for most of the way, her magnificent view of waves breaking on the beach was the best advantage she gained from her position in the field. The aim is to do better than eighth on this occasion. A first-three placing would, of course, be a pleasing outcome though an unlikely one if the early fixed-odds declaration is to be believed.

Thomas’s second and only other drive on the day is behind his Timaru winner, She’s A Major Act (Art Major), in race 8 (4.22pm), the Bob McMeeking Memorial Mobile Pace, over 1900m. Alas, his task of repeating his heroics of Sunday has not been aided by a draw of 2 on the second line.

Though she has precocious early speed, the opportunity to use it from her disadvantageous draw appears to be minimal. That she will leave the barrier behind a competitor named Always A Menace would also seem to be an omen of ill portent. Then again, who is to know what may be achieved when A Menace and A Major Act cross paths.

As well as providing a unique venue for one of the most picturesque harness racing meetings in the world, the Kaikoura club this year hosts the opening day of the World Driving Championship in which reinsmen from many parts of the globe compete at selected meetings to determine who among them is the finest.

A Tom Bagrie representative, Hoof It Hagrid (Gary HALL Jnr), which resumed from a five-month lay-off with a decisive win at Oamaru on October 19, is privileged to be the hot early favourite for the first of the championship heats. He steps out in race 5 (2.35pm), the Lion NZ World Driving Championship Heat 1 (Mobile Trot), over 1900m.

A repeat of Hagrid’s stylish showing at Oamaru would give the Australian Hall an early advantage after the opening heat of the championship though Kaikoura can deliver a smorgasbord of distractions that can play havoc with the concentration of the most talented of racehorses.

Hoof It Hagrid has not raced on the South Bay course before, his two wins from seven starts coming at Rangiora and Oamaru. However, he looked more relaxed on his resumption than when he raced as a younger horse and his maturity should allow him to draw on the talent he has always exhibited.

Recent beach training may have given him at least one advantage over some of his rivals; a raucous Kaikoura seagull shouldn’t bother him at all.

From Tom Bagrie