Ronaldo locked in for Nullarbor

Mighty Ronaldo’s (Alta Christiano) big race record has earned him a second crack at the TABtouch-Nullarbor (2536m) at Gloucester Park on Friday week.

The six-year-old is the penultimate harness racing runner to be locked in for the $1.25 million feature and joins stablemate Never Ending in the star-studded field.

It was a battle between Mighty Ronaldo and reigning Golden Nugget winner Tricky Miki to fill the JP Pacing slot.

Prentice said it wasn’t easy separating the pair, but he knew Mighty Ronaldo was in better form going into this year’s Nullarbor than he was 12 months ago.

“We think he’s a bit more proven at that level,” Prentice told TABradio.

“Other than the hiccup in the Bunbury Cup, we think he’s going as good as he’s ever gone.

“Tricky Miki has taken everything we’ve thrown at him.

“Even when we doubted him, he’s stepped up to the next level.”

Prior to his unplaced Bunbury Cup run, Mighty Ronaldo recorded his first win since last year’s August Cup.

The Nullarbor is set to be a critical race for Mighty Ronaldo, who sits at number 12 on the third set of rankings for the Fremantle Cup (2936m) later this month.

Tricky Miki, who will have his final hit out this Friday ahead of the Fremantle Cup, is safely in the field at number eight.

The five-year-old will have a tough task from barrier nine in the Sky Racing Free-For-All (2130m) on Friday, but Prentice said he expected a strong showing.

“The main thing is I just want him to run a really good race,” he said.

“I haven’t really backed him up before, so whatever he does on Friday, I have a fortnight to have him right for the Freo Cup.

“I think a really genuine tempo in the Fremantle Cup will suit him.”

Never Ending rounds out his Nullarbor preparation in Friday’s 4YO Westbred Entires & Geldings Classic (2536m).

Prentice said he hoped to see Never Ending’s race craft improve again on Friday.

“We want to see his tractability improve,” he said.

“That’s my main thing to get out of Friday night.

“Hopefully we get somewhere with the steering.”

by Tim Walker, for RWWA