Tom Bagrie Draft

WALKINONSUNSHINE

“It’s been a while since I have had a derby runner. It’s good to have her in the race, and we are just keen to turn the page on the run in the Oaks,” said Bagrie referencing his third placing in the 2017 NZ Trotting Derby with BD Khaosan (Angus Hall).

“She has come through it very well and she has got a draw where she might be able to make her own luck and I’m really happy with where she is at,” he said.

GALLOP IN LAST WEEKS RUN

“Her back leg struck the outside horses wheel. Tony (Herlihy) was having a crack for a good spot which was likely to be a one-one sit, but unfortunately she took a slight check and rolled into a gallop. You can’t really blame her for it, it’s racing and a tough pill to swallow in a race we thought we had her pretty good for, but that’s just the way it goes,” said Bagrie.

GATE SPEED

“It’s a bit of a moving thing with her gate speed and hard to say. She does have gate speed to be forward and get handy, and while I thought she might be able to cross them on paper, you just never know until the mobile rolls on the day. When they let them go, Tony will make the right decision I am sure,” he said.

SPOT ON?

“I have been having a few problems with her front feet, and ironically the best they have been was coming into last week’s race. We were happy about that and we are a week further down the line and things are only progressing better and have her in a pretty good spot,” he said.

DERBY DISTANCE

“I have always said she doesn’t have sheer brilliance of some but she is just tough and tries, like she has a few components you need to be able to compete at this level and has the ability to put herself in the right spot.

“I think a bit of a genuine distance and speed might be where she will excel. Sometimes they have just had a bit of high speed for her and if they are not going to be running home in real quick quarters, she should be able to stick out the distance quite well,” he said.

HAROLD SMITH

“He has been finding his way through the grades and in his last prep he was a bit flat and didn’t really do much. We put him to the side to strengthen up and this time in he has just gone great races, and even in the Dominion where he sat parked, we were still really happy with him. He wasn’t far from the main group despite the tough run.

Obviously Oscar smashed everyone but hopefully it will make him better for this company in the future. It’s really nice to have a horse in that grade. We are really happy to be there and hoping for the best while he is finding his feet.

It’s crazy to think that Bolt For Brilliance and Muscle Mountain won’t be there this week and gives some of us the opportunity to try and keep up with Oscar and get a bit of money in the bin. I think the 1980m will suit him down to the ground and would be great to see him handy to them with a nice trip which he probably needs in that grade to show his best.

He is drawn outside Resolve and it’s hard to know whether he can cross her. He had plenty of gate speed down the grades, but Resolve is an Open Class mare in great form and they will want to be handy as well. We haven’t had many mobiles leading up to this race so it will be interesting tactics early, and I feel like the Williamson’s will be keen to get forward early so we will have to leave that one up to Jonny Cox.

For complete Harness Grand Prix Day race fields, click here.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink