Menangle’s showcase Pacing For Pink meeting

Rarely have harness racing patrons seen such a meeting as this Saturday’s evenings fixture at Club Menangle.

It’s not often that we see eleven races programmed at an Australian venue but Menangle will carry that tag which will include Four Group 1s, a Group 3 and the TAB Waratah Final which will carry a stake of $150,000.

It also coincides with Pacing for Pink which is a feature of all Australian states and each will have a meeting dedicated to the worthy charity cause namely the McGrath Foundation which supports cancer care.

However what makes the Menangle meeting so special is the way they have designed the card to accommodate fillies and mares in both pacing and trotting races and female participation with a lady drivers race the second event on the programme and bringing together ten of the State’s leading female drivers.

It’s been proven over time that when there’s competition from Interstate that this produces the best races and this is evident on Saturday evening where the locals will face off against competitors from Victoria and Queensland.

As the state of trotters is more concentrated in Victoria they will figure prominently in both trotters features namely the Group 1 $75,000 Yabby Dam Farms Trotters Oaks and the Group 1 $100,000 Slingsby Holdings Macarthur Mile for aged mares.

The club will also stage the crème de la crème of mares races with the Group 1 $200,000 Prydes Easifeed Queen Elizabeth Mile and the best three year old fillies race to date will be the Group 1 Group 1 $200,000 John Gibson Memorial New South Wales Oaks. Such a depth of outstanding fillies has not been in years.

Although the Lee stable have decided the bypass the Macarthur mile with their star mare Keayang Zahara they will still have a strong presence with Jilliby Ballerini who broke her Group 1 hoodoo with a brilliant all the way win at Melton last week. Stablemate Jilliby Dreamlover isn’t that far behind while their third stringer The Priestess was really impressive in her win at Menangle on Tuesday and looks to be improving with time.

Victorian filly Jilliby Aura will probably start favourite in the Trotters Oaks but she will have spirited opposition in the ultra consistent Adelaide Red while Luke McCarthy seems to have former Victorian Elle Perfecto peaking at the right time.

Captains Mistress has laid claim to being Australia’s best mare this year to date with some stunning performances and although over the flying mile she’s drawn to lead and win the presence of last year’s star mare Eye Keep Smiling will generate a great deal of interest following her outstanding win at Menangle last Saturday evening. Throw in Steno and Gunna Reload and if the pace is on the all the way we are set for an intriguing finish.

As indicated this year’s Pacers Oaks will be the most competitive of fillies races to date and the Emma Stewart trained pair of Arrhythmia and Willows Girl stand out in a race that will be highlighted by sheer speed over the mile trip. But they will encounter the likes of Ark Sea and Sparkling Sea who have swept all before them in previous State classics and add in the likes of Ripples and Senses and we have the makings of a mouth watering clash.

The Fran Fitzpatrick Cheryl McDowell Group 3 Pink Bonnet Mile has been a time honoured classic over the years and this year’s field has assembled a talented group of two year old fillies.

Then there is the $150,000 TAB Regional State Championship Final that has drawn together a capacity field of twelve runners in an evenly matched event and we have a truly memorable night’s racing.

The first of the eleven race card gets under way at 5.20pm with Race 4 being the first of the Group 1 card with the running of the Trotters Oaks.

By Tony Milanese for Harnesslink