Top race card Friday at Wolverhampton Racecourse

Harness racing returns to Wolverhampton this Friday evening where a record attendance is expected to see the stars of the sport strut their stuff under the floodlights of the all weather venue.

The 10 race programme kicks off with a twelve runner Maiden & Novice contest and the Mike Lord trained Articulation Hall will start odds on favourite to take this on the back of 2 runner up efforts at Appleby. Tommy Camden and George Washington can follow the selection home to fill the frame.

The second contest on the card is the “Battle Of The Big Guns” sponsored by US firm Standardbred Sales Co and features 11 of the best pacers from all across the British Isles locking horns in a mouth-watering free-for-all clash.

There is nowhere to hide around Wolverhampton’s big circuit and no excuses will be entertained on the evening with the width of the home straight allowing all runners a clear passage. In this, Scottish hopeful Stoneriggs Mystery will be looking to get his season back on track whilst Meadowbranch Josh and Fool Around will be out to make their presence felt. The Irish raiders have the strongest hand in this however and all 3 Meadowbranch DJ, Meadowbranch Romeo and Rhyds Destiny boast solid credentials of landing the spoils.

Meeting promoter Shane Fletcher would dearly love a win at his local track and Sportstrick could just be the one to garner him a visit to the hallowed winners enclosure in the third race, Division II of the Maiden & Novice Pace. It's expected that the juvenile will have to fight tooth-and-nail to fend off the attentions of James Brown and Desert Rose who are guaranteed to stay the extended journey well.

The Wolverhampton Free-For-All Trot is next up and features 12 runners that are bred from countries all over Europe. The Swedish bred Mitt Popcorn will be popular in the betting here following his impressive seasonal debut at Welsh venue Tir Prince back in May. Vireo De Regen was a winner last week at York and connections to the Ripley family from London will fancy their French bred import to make it back to back wins at the expense of Popcorn.

The aptly named Rewrite History makes a welcome appearance in the Grade 1 Pace and Steven Gilvears three year old colt simply cannot be opposed in this. Already creating history of his own, the US import remains unbeaten in all his starts so far and is destined to go right to the top of his profession and can take another step up the ladder with Lyons Premier waiting in the wings to pounce should the favourite fail to fire on the night.

The evenings Grade 1-4 Handicap looks like the most open event on the card where a valid case can be made for all ten contestants. Of these, American Gangster is sure to be up there at the business end of proceedings whilst Sure I Am Shady and Tillies Larg are others to consider.

Another wide open affair is the Grade 4-7 Handicap where eleven go to post headed in the ante-post betting market by Scotlands Rob Hall, a recent winner at Appleby. Serrano Hall and Bumble B should appreciate the longer journey and the soft underfoot conditions but Irish raider Maximus Lad looks like he would run a very big race at rewarding odds for those looking for a value bet.

The Grade 6-9 Handicap looks like an intriguing contest on paper and although Shades Of Grey will be looking to win at the venue for a second time, she may have to play second fiddle this time around by Ayr Majesty who ran its best race for quite some time in a free-for-all at Tir Prince in May. A repeat of this form would be enough to triumph here with Jack Frost charging late and fast to try and upset the applecart with leading lady driver Vicky Gill aboard.

The second free-for-all square trot of the night features another dozen of the best imported diagonally gaited horses from Europe and Robec will start a warm order favourite to oblige here. Showbusiness is a newcomer to the scene in the UK and will have his supporters as will top Irish hope Secret De Star who is a multiple winner so far this season for Dubliner Patrick Kane.

Saving the best till last, Wolverhampton will stage a top class free-for-all pace that’s guaranteed to send harness racing fans home on a high. A number of the runners in this have recently progressed through the ranks to compete at this grade and its really shaping up to be a “young guns versus the old guard” type of contest.

Bath Lane, Saunders Mach III, No Regrets, Rhyds Art and Wellfield Official all represent the up and coming talent whilst Brywins Magic Potion, Major League Star and Meadowbranch DJ form the back-bone of the established free-for-all batallion. Will we see a new superstar launched at Wolverhampton on Friday…or will it be business as usual for one of the proven performers at this level? Come to Wolverhampton this Friday when all will be revealed. First race 6pm.

by Thomas Bennett