03 August 2011
by Greg Hayes
Rob Nalder.
Harness Racing New South Wales board member Rob Nalder cannot hide his excitement with his multiple Group 1 winner Renaissance Man returning to the racetrack at Tabcorp Park Melton on Friday night. The son of Art Major has not raced since February and has spent ten weeks resting at Yirribee Stud but is now ready to return to his best.
“It’s great to have him back and Andy Gath tells me that he is going really well and he still has his head screwed on at this stage of his preparation” Nalder said.
“He is a strange horse because away from the track he is an absolute gentleman, docile and placid but as soon as he gets the gig on off goes his head and on goes a pumpkin!”
After enjoying stellar two and three year old seasons there was some talk that Renaissance Man could be retired to stud at the end of his four year old campaign but Nalder has confirmed that he will definitely race on for at least another twelve months.
“He’s still got a bit to prove I think and if he performs as well as I know he can then he is going to be competitive in a number of feature races coming up, starting with the Breeders Crown four year old series later this month.”
“Renaissance Man has had a long slow preparation, there is nothing more Andy and Kate could have done with him this time in so I am hoping he can perform extremely well this week, unfortunately due to work commitments I won’t be able to attend this Friday night but I will be there to watch him after that, he is a very special horse to me.”
Nalder freely admits the decision to take on the best in the country last campaign was too much for Renaissance Man.
“We ended up spelling him last time because he had just gone over the top and I take a fair bit of the blame for that because I was the one that wanted to race the good ones in the best races when he wasn’t seasoned enough to deal with the pressure.”
“The break has done him the world of good.”
Harness Racing NSW (HRNSW) is the controlling body for harness racing in New South Wales with responsibility for commercial and regulatory management of the industry including 31 racing clubs across the State. HRNSW is headed by an industry-appointed Board of Directors and is independent of Government.
To arrange an interview or for further information please contact:
Name: Dale Walker
Position: Marketing Manager
Phone: (02) 9722 6600
Email: dwalker@hrnsw.com.au
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