Thank you Stawell OR why I love 800m tracks
I spent a beautiful sunny arvo at Stawell yesterday - my new home/nearest track. It reminded me why I keep coming back to Harness Racing and I have had long spells away and even flirted with following the Gallops - it is the Closeness.
My old home track - Yarra Glen was good (far more scenic LOL, Stawell could surely do with some rain) but with a gallops track around it you felt slightly distant. Yesterday at Stawell with 7 across over the short distance, standing near the fence on this perfectly still day, you could feel the drag created by the outside runner after the mobile released them - it was like being back at the Showies.
Stawell's small amphitheatre makes it so easy to follow the runners. This is why I could never be a regular attender of the gallops - for most of the race you cannot see them with the naked eye and unless you fancy binoculars you need a TV screen, in which case you may as well not be there! Indeed the gallops are such a social event because you can't see the real event.
As for yesterday's racing:
Aheadofhistime is a tough 3g from the same family as Excel Stride and Armalight - and not too far removed from these two. Although he did it very tough after drawing 7 around this tight circuit, they did only rate 2.02 over the short trip.
Indulgent 4g played with them and will improve on his 5w form 25 starts. Have to love the naming: Real Desire - Calories, Calories being What's Next - Gateau, Gateau being French Chef - La Pomme Souffle. :)
