Bling to lead Aussies revival at Interdominions

Luke McCarthy is not making excuses, but simply turning the page on Bling It On’s horror start to the Inter Dominion.

And getting over became a little easier when the draws came out for tonight’s 1700m second of heats. ‘‘Drawing inside the back, behind the likely leader San Carlo, is just perfect,’’ McCarthy said. ‘‘He’s eaten-up well this morning and seems great, so I’ve just put last night behind me.

‘‘I don’t want to make excuses, but of course you think about what went wrong. He got too keen in front and hitting a wheel a couple of times didn’t help.

‘‘He hasn’t been in front for a long, long time in a race and he wanted to go and go. He went from cruising to gone in a couple of strides and that’s just not him, never has been.’’

Veteran Victorian San Carlo, who was a sound fifth after sitting parked on opening night, should have the speed to lead and show whether he’s a genuine factor in the series over 1700m on Tuesday.

It’s a strong heat thought with two of the All Stars’ big guns, final favourite Ultimate Sniper (seven) and Cruz Bromac (eight), facing big tasks from those wide draws over the sprint trip.

The other two Aussies, outsiders Conviction (gate two) and Our Uncle Sam (four), have drawn well, but would need to improve sharply on night one to stay in contention for a final berth.

Opening night eye-catcher Colt Thirty One gets a slightly better draw (gate five) but it’s still a big challenge with Chase Auckland (one) and opening night winner AG’s White Socks (three) drawn better. Victorian My Kiwi Mate was just fair after a good trail on night one, but inside the back (nine), behind Chase Auckland, gives him every chance to get some serious points if he’s good enough.

The other Aussies Atomic Red (six) and Sicario (10) have only drawn fairly and would need to lift on their night one form. In the trotting series, the injured McLovin has been withdrawn.