Captain Shuffles and Hiranya prove their worth

Albion Park’s two fast class features last night drew only small harness racing fields but as is the case proved to be intriguing tactical races.

The Racing and Sports Open Pace had only five runners but saw the clash of the in form Captain Shuffles (Captain Treacherous) and Wisper a Secret who hadn’t raced since finishing 4^th in the TAB Eureka at Menangle Park.

With the decided advantage of pole position driver Nathan Dawson saw to it that his horse would maintain the lead and in doing so was able to dictate his own terms in front.

CAPTAIN SHUFFLES 8 FEB REPLAY

By contrast Pete McMullen on Wisper a Secret settled back but made a move to race outside the leader with just over a lap left to travel. However Captain Shuffles had plenty in reserve and he ran a scintillating third quarter in 26.1 seconds which proved too much for Wisper a Secret who started to give ground on the final bend.

It was left to Manila Playboy to set out after the leader but Captain Shuffles was able to score a comfortable win and in doing so maintained his excellent recent record.

Winning trainer Ben Crosby indicated that is not yet fully sold on a trip to Sydney for some of the forthcoming features. He would have liked a stronger opening half to really convince him to make the trip.

Crosby will weigh up some options over the next couple of weeks, but he did feel that perhaps he was a little underdone tonight, so he should also tighten up.

Wisper a Secret didn’t finish that far behind and he will be improved on that effort.

In the Catch The Fire at Somerset Farms Pace, Hiranya (Bettors Delight) was a raging favourite and once driver Brendan Barnes went to the lead it was a case of shut the gate. Although the gelding shifted out under pressure on straightening he was far too good for Firestorm Red with Watermelon Sugar in third.

After racing in New Zealand, Hiranya was trained by Craig Turnbull at Shepparton in Victoria and he only went to local trainer Gemma Hewitt in October last year.

Gemma Hewitt was very confident going into the race  because of the drop in grade after Hiranya had been racing in Free For All class in his previous two starts. Hewitt was happy with his runs leading into last night’s race as sectionally they had been impressive.

HIRANYA 8 FEB REPLAY

Hewitt has had a nice opinion of the gelding since he joined their stables, and has now won four metro races since October.

For complete race results, click here.

by Tony Milanese, for Harnesslink