Gold Crown and Gold Tiara finals poised to deliver drama, speed and no shortage of theatre

Saturday night at Bathurst Harness Racing club now has the shape of something special, with the heats providing us with clues, but the barrier draw has provided the all-important second layer which has added an even greater depth of intrigue and tactical interest, assuming there are no scratchings.

In the Hynash Group Gold Crown, the draw has been particularly kind to Jacwill Kid (Huntsville/Ruby Delight). He was already the standout on heat figures, rating 1:53.9 in the fastest and most authoritative win of the series, defeating Born To Entertain (Stay Hungry/Ballerina Couru), by six metres with Don Hunter (Huntsville/Miss Halfpenny) well held in third. Now, from barrier one, he has landed the chance to bring that heat-winning speed and professionalism straight into the final, it’s hard to imagine a more favourable set up.

But we know in this great race there will be no shortage of challengers. Take The Miki (Always B Miki/Im Wrongly Accused), a strong and polished heat winner, has drawn barrier three, and that gives him every opportunity to be prominent from the outset. His heat success came in 2:03.6, rating 1:55.0, and while those figures were not quite as explosive as Jacwill Kid’s, the performance itself had quality and control written all over it, he looks ideally placed to stalk the speed and loom at the right moment.

Electricute (Captain Crunch/Bettors Blackmagic), who did not win his heat but lost nothing in defeat when beaten only a neck by Revvin Reynard, now comes up with barrier four, and that may prove one of the more interesting pieces of the puzzle. He showed enough in the heats to suggest he belongs, and from a good gate he may be able to land much closer than some of the wider-drawn rivals. Revvin Reynard (Stay Hungry/Foxy Patron), by contrast, must overcome barrier seven, and while his heat win was brave and deserved in 1:56.3, that draw makes the task appreciably tougher in a field of this quality.

My Ultimate Jed (Bettors Delight/Our Ultimate Lizzy), who was all courage in taking the opening heat by a half-head, has drawn barrier five, and that gives him his chance to stay in the fight. He may not have produced the flashiest heat win, but he showed determination and a will to compete, qualities that often count in the outcome of these finals.

There are several who bring significant talent but must do it the harder way. Gocciadoro (Downbytheseaside/Now eye See), beaten a half-head by Atomik Crunch, in his heat after being a heavily-backed favourite, has drawn inside the back row. Atomik Crunch (Captain Crunch/Yosemite), the heat winner, fared no better from two on the back row. Both have the ability to make their presence felt, but the draw has shifted the balance from straightforward opportunity to a tactical challenge.

So the Gold Crown now shapes as a race where Jacwill Kid deserves to sit at the head of affairs. He was already the horse of the heats, and the pole draw only strengthens that position. Take The Miki looks the runner most likely to make him earn it, while Electricute has the draw to emerge as a genuine danger. My Ultimate Jed and Revvin Reynard remain right in the contest, but both may need things to go their way at key moments. It is a field with depth, but the draw has unquestionably sharpened the spotlight on the colt in red-hot form from gate one.

If the Gold Crown looks to have found a focal point, then the Alabar Farns Gold Tiara appears every bit as fascinating, perhaps even more so, because some of the most brilliant fillies from the heats have not been favoured by the draw.  The great talking point is undoubtedly Birdsong (Huntsville/Dizygotic Lass), who produced the most emphatic heat win of the Tiara series, rating 1:55.2 and putting a remarkable 23.1 metres on her rivals in a performance that was impossible to ignore. On heat dominance alone, she was one of the headline acts of the week. But now she must overcome the inside back row draw, and suddenly the final becomes much more searching. The talent is there, but juvenile fillies are seldom handed anything from awkward draws, and she will need to be every bit as good as she looked in the heats.

Nor has the draw been especially generous to Shes A Delaney (Captain Crunch/No Escape), whose heat win was full of class, speed and authority, rating 1:55.1, and winning by 15 metres. She looked every inch a major player, yet she now faces barrier ten. It is the sort of draw that forces both horse and driver into patience and precision under pressure, and while her heat credentials are beyond doubt, the map has complicated her task considerably.

By contrast, the draw has opened the door for others. Soho Aster (Captaintreacherous/Delightful Jade), the fastest heat winner of the Tiara series, having rated 1:54.8, comes up with barrier three, which looks a splendid starting point for one of the most dynamic fillies in the race. She had already earned her place among the chief chances on performance, and now she has the draw to press that case even more strongly.

Wallaby Way (For A Reason/ The Secret Mouse), runner-up to Gunnareason in the opening heat, has landed barrier one, and that gives her a real chance to elevate herself from heat place getter to genuine knockout hope. She was sound in qualification and now has the ideal gate for a filly who may be able to make full use of track position. Swissville(Huntsville/Lady Swiss), who chased home Birdsong, has also drawn to advantage in barrier two, and one suspects she may be in the right place to capitalise if the race becomes tactical or if pressure comes from the wider-drawn stars.

Then there is Gunnareason (For A Reason/Mile High Anvil NZ), the professional and composed winner of Heat 1, who has drawn two on the back row. She had the look of a filly who might be underestimated after the heats, and from a better draw she could easily have appealed as one of the great value hopes.

What makes the Gold Tiara so enticing is that the draw has created a genuine tactical contrast. The two fillies who were perhaps most dazzling in the heats — Birdsong and Shes A Delaney — have been forced into difficult alleys, while Soho Aster, already a major force on raw ability, has drawn to use her brilliance. Add in the soft draws for Wallaby Way and Swissville, and the race suddenly becomes far more than a simple contest of who ran fastest in the heats. It becomes a final of position, timing and pressure.

This much seems certain. Bathurst is set for two finals rich in promise and potential, and when the mobile rolls away, raw talent will matter, but so too will manners, early speed, race sense and a touch of luck when the pressure comes on.

From Bathurst Harness Racing Club