BY MICHAEL DUMESNY
BATHURST hosts the second round of qualifying heats for the TAB Inter Dominion on Wednesday night with both the pacers and trotters contesting their respective divisions over the 1730 metre sprint distance.
Despite the difficult weather conditions that prevailed on the opening night of the series in Newcastle, the racing was top shelf and saw the emergence of a few surprise packages in both disciplines which has forced a change of thought in the minds of form analysts.
Western Australian star Minstrel was super impressive when winning his heat, leading from start to finish over the 2030 metre journey for the husband-and-wife training combination of Greg and Skye Bond.
Hustled off the arm from gate one by his regular driver Deni Roberts, the gelding was hardly given the chance to come up for air by his opposition but was able to stave off a gallant Jilliby Nitro to score by five metres and record a 1:53.5 mile rating, which was creditable in the soggy conditions.
Speaking at a Harness Racing New South Wales media shoot over the weekend, Roberts was full of praise over Minstrel’s performance.
“I was rapt with him, it was hard not to be, he felt really good, exactly like he would at home,” said Roberts.
“The horse has handled the travelling so well and showcased a pretty good version of himself at Newcastle, and we are really looking forward to getting to Bathurst.
“He is just racing in such good form at the moment.
“When he is sound and pacing smoothly like he currently is, he puts his best foot forward and displays his versatility.”
Unfortunately for connections, Minstrel has come up with gate eight in Wednesday’s heat, but that adversity has not deterred punters, who have backed the gelding into a short $1.35 favourite on the TAB fixed odds market.
On face value it could be a race within the race to the first corner to potentially see who finds the marker line first to enable them to obtain the box seat on Minstrel’s back.
The predicted speed map has the favourite heading forward and having to do plenty of work from the deep gate. Both I Break The Line and My Moonlight Dream are likely to scorch out of the mobile, while Cya Art and Perfect Stride will be doing their level best to hold up from their inside draws.
