‘Gutsy’ Hardern chases redemption in Cairns
HE PUT in what many believe was the run of the race in the $150,000 Townsville Cup, and local trainer Michael Geaney has vowed the “gutsy” Hardern will be ready to back up in Cairns.
Hardern almost pulled off the unthinkable in his hometown feature, before a late dash from The Harrovian handed the Cairns galloper a fairytale finish to a tale of woe. But it was the work that Hardern had put in early in the race that told the true tale of his desperate finish.
After jumping clear from barrier eight, the six-year-old went searching for the rail towards the front of the pack but was denied a move in.
He instead raced three wide for most of the early going, putting in the hard yards to run around the field before holding on to feature in the finish.
Despite the extra workload, Geaney said the gelding by Hard Spun was in high spirits following the run and would be heading into the second chance saloon when he hits the track in Cairns next month.
“He is tremendous, we let him out in the paddock (on Sunday) and he had a buck and neigh,” Geaney said.
“I almost thought you b----d, you could have given me an extra length.
“But I couldn’t have asked for any more from him.
“He was gutsy, he just kept coming down the straight. It was just the blokes with the fresher legs who hadn’t had to do the work early on that got him in the end.
“We are all systems go to go straight into Cairns.
“He has pulled up much better from Townsville than he has from Mackay last month.”
Geaney expects his galloper to remain down on the weights for the fourth leg of the Northern Crowns Series, and could be in for a change in tactics.
“He will give them something to chase at Cairns. I think we might change the approach, get out the front early and give them something to chase,” Geaney said.
The $150,000 Cairns Cup will be run over the 2100m at Cannon Park on Saturday, August 10.