Pacing’s rough patch
THE connections of the state’s best two-year-old pacers are on tenterhooks awaiting news of whether Sunday night’s postponed harness meeting can proceed on Wednesday.
The meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday night, but it will go ahead only if Covid lockdown restrictions are lifted at 6pm on Monday.
Sunday’s meeting was postponed due to a Covidinfected
NSW man entering the state last week without the required travel pass, which resulted in him being sent into hotel quarantine, from which he absconded.
It forced Premier Peter Gutwein to impose a threeday lockdown for Southern Tasmania’s 12 municipalities.
The feature races to have been run at Elwick were the Dandy Patch Stakes for colts and geldings and the Evicus Stakes for fillies, both finals offering prizemoney of $50,000.
The Chris Howlett-trained Mikey Oh is favourite to take out the Dandy Patch on the strength of his impressive win in the Dandy Patch Prelude (2090m) at Elwick last week.
Mickey Oh has won three of his four starts and includes the $10,000 Sweepstakes final last month, his only loss coming at the hands of the Todd Rattray-trained Mucho Mover in a Sweepstakes heat leading up to that final.
Baby You a Song was expected to star favourite to win the Evicus Stakes final,
but she has been scratched, which leaves the door ajar for the Kent Rattray-trained Mays Place to assume that role of favourite.
LAST season’s Dandy Patch Stakes winner Agouda Ruler notched his first win for the season with a dominant display in Launceston last Friday night. It was the only race meeting in the state over the weekend.
Agouda Ruler, trained by John Castles and driven by Gareth Rattray, won six races last season, with the Dandy
Patch his biggest win, though last season’s feature was worth $25,000 compared with $50,000 this year.
The gelding’s trainer John Castles hopes the son of Betterthancheddar can hold his form and go on to win the $50,000 3YO sires stakes final, the Globe Derby, in Launceston next month.
Meanwhile, the greyhound meeting scheduled for Launceston on Monday night will proceed as planned