Young Bluey distances them

Promising four-year-old Young Bluey (Betting Line) showed his harness racing rivals a clean set of heels when he led all the way for a hollow win in the Ranvet Pace at Melton last night.

Heavily backed into a hot favourite, Young Bluey justified the faith that punters had in him by being taken straight to the front by his trainer-driver Matt Craven.

RocknRoll Walla settled in behind the leader while tough pacer RoarforRoscoe was forced to race outside.

Allowed to dictate his own terms of pace in the lead, Young Bluey turned the screws on his rivals by running his third quarter in 28.6 seconds and a final quarter in 26.3 seconds to record an easy win over RocknRoll Walla with Rakero Slammer coming from well back in the field to finish third.

After a dominant victory in the St Arnaud Cup, Young Bluey is straight back into the winners' circle with a brilliant victory in the Ranvet Pace tonight at Melton for trainer-driver Matthew Craven. pic.twitter.com/tN1KzqSx6c

— The Trots (@TheTrotsComAu) November 23, 2024

Matt Craven was satisfied following the event.

“It was nice to find the lead without too much of a fight. His racing manners are improving all the time. He likes to look around and shy. At times he was pulling quite hard. So the fact that he was able to find the lead and relax hopefully he can continue at this level.”

While Craven conceded that Young Bluey is not within the top echelon of pacers, he sees the country cups and lesser Free For Alls such as what he encountered as his immediate target.

Craven also paid tribute to his team that are behind the scenes and provide the necessary support for the stable.

Having already taken out the St. Arnaud Cup in his previous performance, Young Bluey will be ready to take out a further swag of feature cups as the season progresses.

For complete race results, click here.

by Tony Milanese, for Harnesslink