Extreme excitement as Extreme Sea returns

Excitement machine Extreme Sea (Well Said) returns to harness racing at Menangle on Saturday night.

The Goulburn pacer has captured everyone’s attention with four successive wins, the past three at Menangle by a staggering aggregate of more than 76 metres.

Trainer David Hewitt opted to freshen the explosive son of Well Said after he won the TAB Regional State Final by 25.4m at Menangle on May 25.

It took his record to seven wins (and two thirds) from just ten starts.

Extreme Sea’s stunning emergence has seen him grab a share of favouritism with Chariots Of Fire winner Frankie Ferocious for the world’s richest harness race, the $2.1mil TAB Eureka at Menangle on September 7.

Before that, Hewitt will take Extreme Sea north for a crack at the $350,000 Group 1 Rising Sun at Albion Park on July 13.

That will see him clash with Frankie Ferocious for the first time.

Extreme Sea drops back from staying trips to the mile on Saturday and will start from gate eight in a stronger field than he has beaten lately.

The key rival is fellow Rising Sun and TAB Eureka hopeful Dougs Platter, who will start from the outside (drawn 11).

Dougs Platter ran out of puff when he returned from a spell last week and had to do the work off the marker pegs and chase the leader. He weakened late to finish eighth.

“That’ll bring him on a lot. You’ll see a much improved run this week,” his North American part-owner Gordon Banks said.

Hewitt’s son, Brad, will take the reins on Extreme Sea, along with his own Rising Sun and TAB Eureka contender, Captains Knock, later on the same night in the Paul Fitzpatrick free-for-all.

Captains Knock won well first-up, then just battled into fifth spot last Saturday night.

The key runner in the free-for-all is freakish former Kiwi mare Aardies Express, who will take on the boys for the first time in Australia after three wins from as many starts against the girls.

Aardies Express shot to prominence when she ran down champion Aussie mare Ladies In Red to win the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Mile at Menangle last month.

New trainer Jason Grimson has opted to complete her preparation for a hit-and-run Brisbane raid at Menangle.

Aardies Express and Ladies In Red will have a rematch in the $150,000 Group 1 Golden Girl at Albion Park on July 20.

Brad Hewitt will also unleash his exciting three-year-old filly Millwood Bliss against open-aged mares when she returns from a break in the sixth race at Menangle on Saturday night.

Millwood Bliss, who has won seven of her eleven starts, looks like one of few fillies capable of testing unbeaten Victorian star Very Pretty in next month’s Group 1 Queensland Oaks at Albion Park.

Millwood Bliss was placed behind Very Pretty from unfavourable barrier draws when they clashed in a heat, semi-final and final of the Breeders Crown series in Victoria late last year.

For complete race entries, click here.

by Adam Hamilton, for Harness Racing Australia