Ruggari confident with two-pronged attack in Intercity Pace

Maitland will hold the spotlight for harness racing in New South Wales on Sunday night when it conducts the 59^th edition of the time-honoured Intercity Pace.

And it continues the rollout of Harness Racing New South Wales’ TAB Carnival of Cups fixtures which despite interruptions caused by the Covid-19 outbreak have been a resounding success.

The Maitland Club’s annual feature has again drawn together a quality field this year, drawn from horses that qualified in four heats conducted last Tuesday.

One trainer who has his sights set firmly on taking out tonight’s feature is Sawyers Gully horseman Adam Ruggari, who regards Maitland as his home track and a win in the Intercity Pace would be incredibly satisfying for him.

Ruggari has qualified two horses for the race, namely Captain Dan and Far Out Bro who both impressed in their heat wins when driven by the talented Tom Ison.

“Far Out Bro was sent up to me by Sloys Racing specifically for this series and was strong in his heat win, sitting outside of the leader before racing clear to score by a big margin,” Ruggari explained.

“Tom is sticking with him tonight and will no doubt have to make a move into the race at some stage from his wide back line draw. If he is there at the right time, he will be hard to hold out.

“Captain Dan’s former trainer Brad Hewitt and his owners sent him to me for the feature races up this way and I was pleased with his effort to win his heat, especially as he was on a quick back up from Penrith four days earlier which added more merit to his performance.

“Cam Hart who has won on him previously is coming up to take the reins behind him which is obviously a huge plus.

“I do think both my horses are leading chances and I rate Whats Your Secret as the main threat. He seems to have that ex factor and has drawn well in gate one while the other heat winner Chevrons Art has to be respected.

“Tactics and luck in running will be so vital to determining the outcome no doubt.

“All going well, both Far Out Bro and Captain Dan will head to Tamworth for the Golden Guitar later in the month.”

Click here to view the fields for Maitland on Sunday.

By Michael Dumesny for HRNSW