Ruggari’s strong hand in Regional Championships

Sawyers Gully harness racing trainer Adam Ruggari has a strong hand leading into the opening round of the Hunter TAB Regional Championships at Newcastle tonight.

Ruggari has a runner in each of the three qualifying heats and is confident his trio can all perform well with Far Out Bro shaping as the top seed for the series.

“Far Out Bro was sent to me by Michael Doltoff to contest the Inter City Pace at Maitland late last year and ran a creditable second,” said Ruggari.

“We were impressed with his effort in that race and put a plan in place to keep him up here for the Championships.

“Without getting too far ahead of things, I do believe he is the benchmark runner in the series.

“I know things can go wrong in racing, but he certainly has class on his side.”

Far Out Bro will contest the opening heat tonight and has come up with gate four in an eight-horse field.

His main threat is likely to come from the Rod Atkins-trained Sunshine Pepper, a talented three-year-old colt who performed well last season and will have the added advantage of starting from gate one.

“Rod’s horse is very fast off the arm and will be keen to hold the front running,” said Ruggari.

“But I will leave our tactics up to my driver Jack Callaghan, who will assess things when the gate leaves.

“He is a very clever young driver who will sum up the situation and make the right decisions.”

Ruggari’s two other chances in the Championships are Geraldton Wax (Race 3) and Surfing Clear (Race 4) and he is confident both horses have the form to be considered serious contenders.

“Originally, Geraldton Wax was not being aimed at this race when we first purchased her,” he said.

“But she earned her chance of contesting it after some honest recent efforts.

“Surfing Clear is a nice horse but can sometimes do things wrong.

“If he brings his best manners to the track tonight, he is more than capable of winning.”

Three heats of the Western District Championships were held at Bathurst on Wednesday night with the Bernie Hewitt-trained Ballerini impressing most with her devastating victory.

The Nathan Hurst trained Eagle Commander caused an upset at big odds in the opening heat while Saint Emilion was also impressive in winning his heat.

To view the fields for Newcastle on Friday click here.

By Michael Dumesny for HRNSW