Tasmanian harness highlights

The Tasmanian Festival of Racing officially commences in Launceston on Saturday night (Dec. 3), with the $50,000 Lees Orchard Tassie Golden Apple being the headline act on a feature night of prime time harness racing.

Call Me Hector (Art Major) scored in last Sunday’s heat at $81, and will be one of 11 Tasmanian-trained pacers out to defeat the sole Victorian in the race, Blitzern.

Also on show this weekend is the state’s up-and-coming drivers, who will participate in the 6ty Youngbloods Challenge with heats to be held in both Launceston and Hobart.

The Stars

Call Me Hector – returned to winning form with an upset win at $81 in the final heat of the Tassie Golden Apple with a dominant victory off his 30m handicap.

Camelot Jedimaster  – recorded the narrowest of wins to score at his second race start in Sunday’s two-year-old event. The gelded son of Sutter Hanover has improved in every public outing that trainer Deborah Williams has given him.

Puntarno Stride – was a tough winner of the rating 70 to 79 event, leading all the way to score. Taylor Ford worked forward early to find the lead, and after the quickest lead time of the night in 42.7s, she allowed the pacer to bowl along in 30.5s, 30.7s, 28.6s and 30.7s.

The states junior drivers – Charlie Castles, Liam Older, Ryan Backhouse, Bronte Miller, Kayleb Williams, Tiarna Ford, Malcom Jones and Brodie Davis. Between them, they drove half of last weekend’s winners.

Feats of the meet

Hobart, 25 November
Ben Yole – six training wins,
Nathan Ford – driving treble.

Launceston, 27 November
Ben Yole – training quartet.

Calculated Sectional Standouts

Hobart, 25 November
Believe In Forever 56.35, Cardinal Sin 56.63, Castle Retreat 56.71, Dapper 56.88 and Major Lester 57.02.

Launceston, 27 November
Nances Tiger 57.11, We Salute You 57.19, Call Me Hector 57.38, Camelot Jedimaster 57.58 and One Off 57.67.

Tasracing Official Price

Hobart, 25 November
Hit: Foregone Conclusion $5 into $4.6.
Defied The Drift: Stunin Magic $4.8 out to $6.5, Sapphire Gambler $5 out to $7.5, Streetside Classic $7.5 out to $10 and Equity Stride $6.5 out to $10.
Missed: Ultimate Me $16 into $9.5, Cardinal Sin $31 into $8, Cool Scooter $2.8 into $1.9 and Major Lester $5 into $2.8.

Launceston, 27 November
Hits: Puntarno Stride $11 into $5.5 and Major David $6 into $4.2.
Defied The Drift: Call Me Hector $31 out to $81, I Of The Hurricane $4.8 out to $5.5 and Aunty Bessy $8 out to $10.
Missed: Kuzma $3.6 into $3, Macaria $5 into $4, The Gardener $10 into $6.5, Star Watching $6.5 into $3.8, Sporty Ben $11 into $5.5 and Reds Good To Go $18 into $8.

Week Ahead

Saturday: The $50,000 Lees Orchard Tassie Golden Apple headlines the 10-race card in Launceston.

The meeting also features the $20,000 Tassie Wash Golden Girls, $20,000 Longford Equine Clinic Golden Slipper and the first three heats of the 6ty Youngbloods Challenge.

The meeting will be live streamed on TasracingTV with Duncan Dornauf and Adrian Collins trackside.

At Geelong, the third and final round of heats of the Inter Dominion will be held.

Part Tasmanian owned, and bred Longfellow (barrier 7), and locally owned Max Delight (barrier 11) have poor draws to overcome in the first heat of the night, while Mach Dan, who is part-owned in the state, has also drawn poorly in the last heat of the series.

Izaha lines up at Menangle and continues the Tasmanian theme interstate, drawing barrier 10 of 10.

Sunday: The Youngbloods Challenge will conclude in Hobart on Sunday, with the final three heats to be held on the eight-race program.

Monday: Trials scheduled for Hobart.

For complete fields, click here.

by Duncan Dornauf, for Tasracing