Fox Dan back in the Eureka frame

Fox Dan (Art Major – Jodila) came within 1.5 metres of winning last year’s TAB Eureka. Twelve months on, the Emma Stewart-trained four-year-old is again the harness racing candidate for the slot held by Team Zav.

The slot holder (Team Zav) has named Fox Dan as its runner for the $1.5 million race over 2300 metres at Club Menangle on Saturday, November 21.

Last year Fox Dan started at $11 in the Team Zav slot and finished second to stablemate Bay Of Biscay, with Hesitate a metre away third. The $400,000 he earned that night is still the biggest single prize of his career. He is one of several horses who contested the race as three-year-olds and return as four-year-olds this year alongside Fate Awaits and Hesitate.

His 2026 campaign has been interrupted by niggling issues. They have limited him to 11 starts for four wins, three seconds and a third, worth $97,106.

He opened his season with a win at Mildura in April and ran second over 2600 metres at the same track four days later. Back at Melton he was second in early June, then won over 2240 metres on June 20 at $1.60.

A Queensland winter campaign followed. He finished sixth in the Group 1 Rising Sun at Albion Park on July 4, then third and seventh at his next two starts there.

After a break he resumed at Kilmore on September 10 and finished fourth, beaten 8.9 metres at $2.40. Nine days later he won a Vicbred four-year-old final at Melton by 4.2 metres at $9.50, rating 1:52.3 over 2240 metres.

He was then off the scene for six weeks. He came back at Swan Hill on October 30 and ran second, beaten 2.3 metres by Storms Collide after racing outside the winner.

Earlier this month Zavitsanos said sentiment alone would not decide his runner, and that Fox Dan needed to show he was ready. He ruled out his three-year-olds Brooklyn Dan and Victoria Derby winner Dynamitedan, and named stable runners The Last Trip and Cigano as the alternatives. Cigano has since been confirmed for another slot.

“Fox Dan is the front runner,” Zavitsanos said.

Fox Dan responded at Melton on Saturday night. Nathan Jack drove him for the first time. He sat outside the leader in the Mimosa Homes Free For All over 1720 metres and held off Yambukian by a head at $1.35. The 1:51.5 mile rate was a career-best winning mile rate.

“What a great little racehorse, great manners and a great trier,” Jack said.

At 9am on Thursday, TAB had Fox Dan at $8.50, seventh in its Eureka market behind favourite Loucasso.

Fox Dan joins a strong Stewart and Tonkin contingent. The stable already has two confirmed runners: Victoria Oaks winner Bettor Beach for the slot holder (Harnesslink) and Cigano for the slot holder (Levarg Racing Group) and at least one more is expected. The stable has won two of the three Eurekas run so far, with Encipher in 2023 and Bay Of Biscay last year.

Fox Dan is a bay horse bred by Danny Zavitsanos and owned by D Zavitsanos and P A Fox. From 26 starts he has won 14, with six seconds and two thirds, for $744,113 in stakes.

 

Disclosure: Harnesslink is a 2026 TAB Eureka slot holder, and Bettor Beach will run in the Harnesslink slot. Harnesslink owner Mick Harvey also holds the Go Racing slot.

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from Harnesslink Media