Queensland harness racing wrap

Catch up on the week’s Queensland harness racing action in our weekly review, thanks to Darren Clayton.

THE GOOD

On Saturday night (Aug. 13), Grant Dixon became the fourth driver in Australian Harness Racing to reach 5,000 wins.

It was only fitting that the milestone moment was aboard one of Dixon’s favourite horses and highest stake earner Colt Thirty One (Mach Three).

It was a tough effort from Colt Thirty One who fought hard after having looked like his race had been run as the field straightened for the sprint to the judge.

However, Chester, as he is affectionately known around the stables, might just have sensed the occasion. He rallied under Dixon’s urgings to fight back and claim the 5,000 milestone for his master driver and his own 50th career win.

The win was the 47th time Grant had partnered to victory with Colt Thirty One from 105 races together, a record that also included Group 1 victories in the 2017 2YO C&G Triad Final, 2018 Victoria Derby and 2019 Blacks A Fake.

Just four other drivers have ever driven Colt Thirty One in his 113 start career. Three of them with one win each aboard the million-dollar earner- Trista Dixon, Robbie Morris and John Caldow, while Inter Dominion winning reinsman Josh Gallagher finished second on his only drive aboard the entire.

Amazingly, despite having driven the star pacer to 47 victories, it is the retired trotter Our Overanova that has provided Dixon with the most race wins. The air combined for 48 victories.

It has been a remarkable career for Dixon who took his first race drive in the late 1980s.

Claiming the NSW Derby in 1994 aboard Jeremy Lee, there is an air of symmetry that it was this season that he reached the 5,000 milestone, because Dixon claimed his second win in the NSW feature race with Leap To Fame.

While yet to emulate his late father Bill, who claimed six winners at one meeting, Dixon has claimed five winners at the same meeting nine times to date in his career.

Most recently he secured the feat in July 2019, on a night where he scored aboard both Colt Thirty One and Our Overanova.

With a season-high of 242 winners in the 2009/10 season, Dixon has been the leading driver in Queensland 12 times – a state record.

Dixon also holds the record for most consecutive State driving premierships with six, recorded inclusively from the 2006/07 term through to 2011/12.

The talented and hardworking horseman is also on track to become the first in Australian history to have driven 5,000 and trained 3,000 winners.

If able to match his current strike rate, Dixon should reach the next milestone near the season’s end.

THE BAD

The racing days of Pelosi (American Ideal) have come to an end with trainer, and part owner, Anna Woodmansey calling time on the career of the five-year-old mare.

Pelosi raced in three states and in New Zealand and will retire with 17 wins and 12 minor placings from 60 starts.

A three-time Group 1 winning filly, Pelosi claimed the Australian Pacing Gold two-year-old fillies final at Albion Park before the NSW Breeder Challenge Finals.

Pelosi joined her dam For Dear Life as a winner of the two-year-old Breeders Challenge and became the third filly to claim the 2YO/3YO double since the Breeders Challenge replaced the NSW Sires Stakes Finals.

Regally bred by part owner Wayne Honan, Pelosi had her first race start as a two-year-old at Albion Park in February 2019 and began with a victory.

Of the beaten horses in that debut performance were both Will The Wizard and current Albion Park 1660 metre track record holder Blacksadance.

Going on to win another 16 races and every season from two years old through to five years old, Pelosi claimed her last win where it all started, at Albion Park.

That was recorded on May 14 in a mares Band 5 event driven by Alan Donohoe.

Other drivers to have driven Pelosi to victory were John Cremin, Angus Garrard and Jim Douglass with Cremin aboard for two of Pelosi’s Group 1 victories, the APG Final and the 2YO Breeders Challenge, and Douglass taking the reins in her 3YO Breeders Challenge success.

Pelosi will retire with a career-best winning rate of 1.52.2 secured at Menangle, while her 1.53.3 rate in an APG heat at Albion Park at her fourth career start, still stands as the 1660 metre 2YO fillies age record.

It is likely that Pelosi will be bred with Sweet Lou in the upcoming breeding season.

THE MILESTONE

Melissa Kendall ended a winning drought in the sulky when she claimed victory with a pacer that she trained and part-owned, Diego Delgado (Union Guy), at Redcliffe on Thursday (Aug. 11).

Although not driving a great deal in recent seasons, Kendall claimed her first winning drive since being successful with Wild About Town in February 2019.

The win is her eighth victory after only taking her first drive in 2013/14, She is now approaching her 400th drive.

With just 18 drives in the past two seasons, Kendall had faced the starter 33 times this season before she took the reins aboard Diego Delgado at his latest appearance.

A late bloomer, Diego Delgado did not start until late in his four-year-old season before having close to another 12 months off.

Resuming late in the season as a five-year-old, the gelding claimed a maiden-breaking win in January, three weeks into his six-year-old term.

Facing some tractability issues following that first win, the gelding broke through six months after his initial success, with Kendall’s son Zac Chappenden taking the drive.

Maintaining his form with a narrow second, Diego Delgado made it two wins in three starts with his 1780-metre victory at Redcliffe last Thursday.

Settling near the tail after starting from the second line, Kendall eased wider with a cart at the 600-metre point before moving four-wide approaching the home turn.

Stretching his neck out on the line, Diego Delgado scored by a short half-head over the Narissa McMullen-driven Heavenly Wisdom.

The win was the 13th training success this season for Kendall, with Diego Delgado now her most successful runner by stakes in the current term, edging past Mister Hart.

THE WILDCARD

A busy week for Jordan Topping  was capped with the young reinswoman claiming her first metropolitan winner at The Creek on Saturday night (Aug. 13).

Taking the reins aboard the Ryan Veivers-trained Glenledi Commander in the opening race, Topping had already driven earlier in the day at Ekka.

The only female driver to compete across the nine days at the Show, Topping did not claim a win, but did finish second aboard Torque Is My Girl in Thursday’s heats.

Topping (pictured at Ekka) was also given the role of driving a dual-seater sulky for the winner of a Racing Queensland competition, taking the delighted lucky showgoer for a spin around the Main Arena.

However, nothing could hide the smile on Saturday evening when Topping returned to scale at The Creek with her first metro success.

Starting from the pole for the 2138 metre event, Topping controlled the race in front, taking the field through a steady lead time of 37 seconds before an opening half of 59.3.

Increasing the tempo with a 28-second third quarter, Glenledi Commander fought off the challengers with 2.6 metres to spare over the fast-finishing Mistery Road.

In claiming her maiden metro victory (pictured), the perfectly rated front-running drive was the fifth win aboard Glenledi Commander and 25th career success for Topping who is in her third season of driving.

Experiencing her most successful season to date in her brief career, Saturday’s win was Topping’s 13th this term, having placed on a further 31 occasions at a healthy 20% strike rate.

THIS WEEK

Six meetings will be held this coming week in Queensland with three at Redcliffe and at Albion Park.

Redcliffe starts the week with an eight-race programme on Monday night followed by Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon.

There are 10 races at Albion Park on Tuesday afternoon, with Friday’s meeting in the night timeslot.

The week will wrap up with the inaugural Q Stars night on Saturday.

On a night dedicated to QBRED, all races scheduled for Saturday are QBRED events, with four Group 1 Triad Finals to be held.

The two-year-old and three-year-old Triad Finals for each sex are all at Group 1 level and will be accompanied by the four-year-old finals for each sex, held at Listed level.