Sprint king remains wary of training workload
PAST winner Liam Gander admits he is unsure of where he is at competitive-wise as he heads into a bid for a second Majella Australia Day Gift on Friday.
Gander won the prestige sprint in 2016 when the race was held at its traditional home on the lawns at the Ev- andale council chambers.
The Gift was held at the Southport Sharks in Musgrave Hill last year and returns to the same venue this week.
Either way, Gander has promised a strong showing at the famous sprint race.
This is despite the fact a new full-time job as a landscaper has cut into the amount of training time he had when working part-time.
“I just can’t get the quality time I used to,” the Nerangbased Gander said.
Asked about his chances of adding a second Gift to his tally, the Moree-raised Gander was positive.
“I don’t know what my mark (handicap) is,” he said.
“I’ll be at the back but I’ll make them work hard.”
His trainer Tony feels his charge Fairweather is fit enough and strong enough to get the job done for a second time.
“He has scored a job which has cut into his training but he has been training well by the same token,” Fairweather said.
The $10,000 Gift has attracted some quality runners, especially from NSW.
Mitchell Pateman, a finalist last year at the Sharks, the Newman twins Jack and Tom, Luke Eckford a past Queanbeyan Gift winner, and recent Burnie Gift finalist Matthew Murray are among the best chances to grab a major share of the prizemoney.
Indigenous Ipswich sprinter Larisa Chambers looms as the winner of the Copirite Women’s Gift on Friday.
Her recent form includes Gift wins in Ipswich, Mulgowie and Noosa.