In-form pacer finally racing up to his ability

After plenty of initial optimism, Lola Weidemann thinks she finally has Party Changer (Changeover) racing up to his harness racing ability ahead of the Final of the Oakwood Capital Goldstrike series at Marburg on Sunday afternoon.

The five-year-old gelding was a smart heat winner of the rich series earlier this month, taking out the first of the four heats by almost eight metres.

The son of Changeover has most certainly gone on with it as well, winning a race at Albion Park in the period of time between the heats and Sunday’s lucrative Final.

Party Changer has now won four on the bounce ahead of the $35,000 decider at Marburg on Sunday, which is one of the club’s feature meetings for the year being held over the Easter period.

Party Changer is only a five-time career winner so Weidemann has put her pacer in a rich vein of form of late.

The experienced trainer and driver always had a fair opinion of the gelding but he battled illness and a lack of fitness at times earlier in his time in Weidemann’s Clifton barn.

“A different way of working him has got him going,” Weidemann said on Wednesday morning.

“We have worked him a bit harder and done a few different ways of working him.

“We started galloping him every day to get him harder and all of a sudden things changed.

“Before that start at Albion Park, I thought he would bolt in and he did. Hopefully he can keep going with it all, that is what we can all hope for.”

In earlier campaigns, the Group 1-winning reinswoman thought she had Party Changer up to the mark where he needed to be before he was struck down with an infection-style illness on a few occasions.

The long-time Queensland participant is hopeful the gelding’s issues are now a thing of the past.

“We could not get him right before, but now he is just beautiful,” she said.

“He looks good and touch wood he will not get sick again. That has been the difference.

“I cannot believe it is the same horse that we had previously going by his last four runs.”

Party Changer won with Adam Richardson in the bike on the first day of this month to start his winning spree before Weidemann returned to the sulky for his last three triumphs.

The Oakwood Capital Goldstrike series is run over 2200 metres with a standing start for the pacers.

The Charlie Martin-trained and Leonard Cain-driven Mydadsaid was another impressive heat winner earlier this month.

The victory of Mydadsaid set a new track record of 1.59.5, shaving 0.5 seconds off the previous record held by Misty Creek.

Martin described Mydadsaid as being just 80 per cent fit for the heat and believes there is plenty more to come with him ahead of the Final.

He considered giving the gelding another run before the Final but will opt to keep him fresh.

“We picked out this race at Marburg,” Martin said.

The Oakwood Capital Goldstrike series is a cherished one to Weidemann.

“Anyone that wins this race, it is big for them as there is not many feature races for this grade of horse around,” Weidemann said.

“To have a feature race with a horse like this is good.

“It is a race we really look forward to and appreciate the prize money from the club and sponsors to put it on.”

by Jordan Gerrans, for Racing Queensland