Catch up on the week’s harness racing action in our weekly review, thanks to Darren Clayton.
THE GOOD
It was arguably the strongest field ever assembled for the Flashing Red Discretionary Handicap last Saturday night.
The line-up boasted three individual Group 1 winners and two Albion Park track-record holders, with the combined field having won more than $3 million in stakes money.
Held at Group 3 level for the first time, it was the Belinda McCarthy-trained and Luke McCarthy-driven Mach Shard that claimed victory, following on from his brilliant track-record breaking win at his previous outing.
With the capacity field relatively safely away from the tapes at the 2647 metre start, it was Feelingforarainbow that worked to the front.
After stepping well from his 10-metre handicap, L L Cool J was soon challenging, taking the lead with two laps of the Albion Park circuit to complete.
With no moves through the next lap, it was Mach Shard that was the first to go, pulling out three-wide with a lap to travel.
McCarthy angled the seven-year-old wider and led the three-wide line, with Blacksadance securing the back of Mach Shard.
Moving down the back straight, the tempo started to lift.
The opening half of the last mile was completed in 61 seconds as the pace lifted to a 28.4 second third split.
Mach Shard moved alongside L L Cool J turning off the back straight and the pair put a two-length gap on Blacksadance.
Turning for home, McCarthy and Mach Shard gained the better of L L Cool J and set sail for the finishing post.
Turn It Up had been in the running line until driver Shane Graham squeezed out of a pocket to set out after Mach Shard.
Charging home over the closing stages, with an individual closing 400-metre split of 26.04 seconds, Turn It Up could not bridge the deficit, with Mach Shard taking victory by a half-neck.
L L Cool J hung on for third, a further three metres adrift.
The win was outside the track record Mach Shard set last week with his victory over the same journey, but the effort was equally as impressive.
The winning prize money elevates Mach Shard beyond $500,000 in stakes, as he towards feature events the Redcliffe Gold Cup, Sunshine Sprint and Blacks A Fake in sizzling form.
It was also the first leg of a winning treble for McCarthy who claimed driving honours on the night.
He scored aboard Sporty Dancer for Shannon Price and then The Raconteur for his wife Belinda, who claimed training honours with a double.
THE BAD
Hemsworth made it three successive victories on Saturday night when he swooped home to claim the opening event at Albion Park for trainer Chantal Turpin and driver Pete McMullen.
For Hemsworth, his past three victories have all been full of class, when working home off the speed on each occasion and Saturday night’s win came after reeling off some sizzling closing sectionals of 54.4 and 26.8 seconds.
That resulted in the four-year-old scoring by four-metres in a new personal best winning time of 1.52 for the mile.
Kotoni Staggs and Pat Carrigan have become accustomed to success together on the field as team mates for the Brisbane Broncos, and off the field in the success of Hemsworth.
Introduced to the thrill of harness racing through Broncos team-mate Jake Turpin, the trio along with Jake’s mother Karen, and Brisbane lawyer Dave Garratt have enjoyed ownership success with the four-year-old gelding.
Saturday’s triumph was the tenth victory that the group has celebrated since the Sweet Lou gelding crossed the Tasman to join the Turpin stable.
However, for Staggs and Carrigan, they may have been able to share Broncos and racing success together but on Wednesday they will be on field adversaries.
Both men have been selected to make their State of Origin debuts, with Carrigan lining up for Queensland and Staggs for New South Wales.
That will see the pair go head-to-head in their search for success for their respective states, with Hemsworth’s victory quickly forgotten when they enter Accor Stadium.
THE MILESTONE
Six-year-old Feel The Thrill was able to break through for his first Albion Park victory last Monday when leading throughout.
Starting from gate six, driver Lachie Manzelmann signalling his intentions early, driving the gelding hard off the arm and continuing to press forward, eventually assuming control on entering the home straight on the first occasion.
The first quarter was a sharp 27.8 seconds before Manzelmann was able to pump the brakes and secure a slight let-up with a second quarter of 31.2 seconds.
Running off the back straight in a 29.3 third split, Feel The Thrill was travelling strongly as the field cornered for home to establish a gap over the chasing pack.
Driven out to the line in a final split of 29 seconds, Feel The Thrill responded to the urgings from Manzelmann to pull clear to win by almost 14 metres, stopping the clock in a new personal best winning mile-rate of 1.57.2 for trainer Alex Cain.
Feel The Thrill is owned, and was bred, by Donald Cox, with the gelding’s latest victory the seventh of his career to date.
There was some symmetry to the victory with the win coming almost 10 years to the day that Feel The Thrill’s dam, Smooth Bullville, claimed her first Albion Park victory.
That win was May 24, 2012, when breaking her maiden status with the first of her five career wins for Cox.
Errol Cain, Alex’s father, trained Smooth Bullville to her first win with Feel The Thrill the second foal and only winner of his dam.
THE WILDCARD
The numbers keep tumbling this season for trainer Dan Russell, with the latest achievement coming at Albion Park on Friday night after preparing a winning treble for the first time in his career.
So far this season, Russell has reached the milestone of 100 career training wins, claimed his first Albion Park double and surpassed his previous best season.
Also, at one stage, two horses from his stable were the only horses in the state to have recorded five successive victories this season.
In claiming the training treble, Russell moved to 33 wins for the season and into eighth spot on the Queensland Trainers Premiership.
The first winner was nine-year-old gelding Jack William.
Having been racing well without success since arriving with Russell in March, the gelded son of Bettors Delight was able to make full use of an improved gate to score in claiming grade.
Sent forward from gate three before taking cover, driver Matt Elkins angled back to the passing lane in the stretch and was able to urge the veteran home to score his first Albion Park victory.
Elkins was also in the bike for the third winner from the Russell stable when Jet Force claimed the last race on the big 10-event card.
Settling in the running line from a second line gate, the leader was starting to weaken. That forced Elkins to make a move from the 700 metre mark when he eased three-wide to progress forward.
Hitting the front swinging for home, he was headed by Aunty Emily but fought back to claim victory by the barest possible margin.
In between the two Elkins driven winners for Russell, was the victory of Heartbreak, the four-year-old mare driven to success by Narissa McMullen.
Settling in the one-by-one trail, the regally bred mare arrived on the line to claim success by a head margin and a new best winning time of 1.54.6.
McMullen has now recorded two wins from her only two drives aboard the mare.
THIS WEEK
Another week of six race meetings in Queensland, with Albion Park to host four of them.
Racing at The Creek will be on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, with Friday a night meeting followed by the metropolitan fixture on Saturday night.
Redcliffe will host a Wednesday night card and a Sunday night programme.
Tuesday afternoon at Albion Park will see the first race of the season for two-year-old trotters and, in a great boost for the square gaiters in Queensland, there have been eight acceptors.
There will be three races for trotters on Tuesday, with two ratings events for older trotters complementing the two-year-old fixture with fields of 11 and 14 in each of those events.