Twelve-year-old trotter steals the show at Methven

Grass track harness racing returned with gusto on Sunday afternoon at the picturesque Mt Harding Racecourse in Methven.

Despite some adverse weather around the country during the week, the grass track cut a pretty picture as always with those in attendance greeted with some much-needed sunshine after a frosty start to the day.

Large even fields greeted the punters and despite there being a tendency for the grass surface to even the playing field, there weren’t a lot of surprises across the card.

Most of the 11 race winners were warm in the betting, however, some outside placegetters spiced up dividends with races one and ten having $10,000 payouts on their respective first fours.

Harnesslink followers would have been rejoicing in the second on the card when Trouble Supreme (Prodigal Seelster) delivered on his home track for his trainer and Methven Trotting Club president, Michael Heenan.

Heenan labeled the four-year-old as his best of the day earlier in the week and so it proved, winning by one and a quarter lengths and paying a tidy $6 on the tote.

TROUBLE SUPREME REPLAY

It was just about a winning double for Heenan with Sister’s Delight beaten a narrow margin into second in the last on the card.

The star of the day was without a doubt the evergreen twelve-year-old trotter, Jerry Garcia (Jeremes Jet).

The dual-gaited gelding was having his 111^th race day start as a trotter (58 as a pacer) and the fifth race of his new campaign.

When he found the front, he appeared to be traveling well and so it proved, holding out the fast-finishing Abacardi Hazel by a neck to win the fourteenth race of his career.

JERRY GARCIA REPLAY

“Amazing old horse isn’t he,” quipped his trainer and driver, Leo O’Reilly.

He’s well-loved and well looked after and has been racing every year since he was two. He’s still happy and well and fresh in his warm-up. He was looking around and shying at things and you wouldn’t have thought he had a race start.

“He put a wee sport on at the top of the straight and skipped away a wee bit. The one in the trail was traveling good, but we held on which was good,” he said.

His owners tried the gelding to being broken into the saddle for a new life as a riding horse and was even strutted by hand as a show horse before deciding he had other ideas about the curtain being called on his racing career.

“He was tried with a couple of different rehomers but wasn’t coming to the party, he just doesn’t like it. We’ve hand showed him and brought him back to the races,” said his caretaker, Angela O’Reilly.

“We wouldn’t bring him back if he didn’t love it, he just missed being in work and was already doing the pace work for a lot of the young ones at home.

“I like driving him, he’s a really cool horse to drive and just good old fun. You don’t make your millions with a horse like him, but he gives you plenty of smiles,” she said.

Another notable feature on the card was the training double for the Woodend Beach partnership of Greg and Nina Hope.

Four-year-old mare, Bettorlini, (Bettor’s Delight) was able to pick up her second career win in the fourth on the card. The daughter of handy race mare, Cullini, hasn’t always delivered on her potential but showed her appreciation for the surface with her only other win coming on a grass track also.

King Of Love was too good for his opposition in the feature trot on the card, with the son of Love You capitalizing on a sweet drive by the country’s second leading junior driver, Ben Hope, who was doing the steering for his mum and dad.

For complete race results, click here.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink