The speed explosion at Menangle

Harness racing enthusiasts in the Southern Hemisphere have always looked at their Northern Hemisphere counterparts with a fair bit of envy when it came to how quick their horses could fly around some of those big tracks in North America.

The Meadowlands  Racetrack at 1600 metres in circumference is bigger than anything that is available in Australasia and there can be no denying that the size of the track is worth time in every mile race.

Since the construction of the 1400 metre Tabcorp Park Menangle track, Australasian racegoers have been treated to a speed explosion that would have been impossible just a few short years ago.

The 1:50 barrier is no longer an impossible dream for Australasian trainers and owners and as the overall times drop, the time gap between the two hemispheres continues to shrink.

Sub 26 second quarters were unheard of before Menangle but are now a common occurrence in races there.

If any confirmation was needed of how far we have progressed speed wise since the establishment of Menangle, then last Saturday night surely provided it.

Ten races over the mile distance at  Menangle resulted in ten races in 1:52.5 or better on the night.

From a fastest of 1:48.8 by Have Faith In Me in the Chariots Of Fire to Bettor Draw going 1:52.5 in an M1-M2 race, the speed was relentless all night.

The two qualifying heats for the Miracle Mile both went in 1:50.7 which is now becoming normal for that class of horse.

The big day meeting at Menangle on February 28th promises to be even more spectacular with two cracking fields in both the Miracle Mile and the Ladyship Mile.

Racing in the atmospheric conditions available during the day is definitely worth time over the mile distance and the quality of those two fields just about makes it a certainty that not only will the  1:50 mark be broken, but that new Australasian records could be set.

That speed gap between the hemispheres could be about to shrink a bit more.

Harnesslink Media