It's a big night of harness racing this Saturday, March 16th, with six tracks in action! We've picked out four selections from the night's racing, with Hobart, Melton and Narrogin the tracks of choice.
Check out our preview and tips below!
Harness Racing Tips: Saturday, March 16th
HOBART RACE 5
The Group 2 Tasmania Cup Final is a standing-start race over 2579m that sees a field of 14 runners line up. There are two backmarkers off 30m and they are Harjeet and Star Chamber. Seven horses have 10m handicaps and five have the front line. I am looking at one of the horses on the front line here and he was a heat winner by 10.7m over Harjeet. That horse is Scooterwillrev, a 5YO gelding for trainer Craig Hayes. Regular driver Rohan Hadley will be in the gig and plan A will be looking for the lead. Barrier three looks good with two rank outsiders drawing inside and if Scooterwillrev finds the lead, I think he will take a power of beating. He can do some work also which helps but no runner will want to work too hard over the staying trip in a field that has some depth.
MELTON RACE 2
Lets Go Better has the inside barrier and will be trying to hold out the early challenge from Our Sportscaster; that horse could always take the easy option and trail Lets Go Better with no second row in the race. Whether he leads or trails, Lets Go Better is racing well with two wins from his past three starts. A last-start second was a good effort when making a three-wide run over the 1720m. Spinners Boy will be a big danger but $1.90 looks very short and happy with the $3.20 for Lets Go Better.
MELTON RACE 9
Pistol Abbey will be searching for the lead in the final event on the program. Chris Alford drives for Emma Stewart and that combination is generally a recipe for success. The 4YO mare won back-to-back races prior to running fifth when starting as a $1.30 favourite. The gate speed of Courageous Affair does concern me a bit because I want Pistol Abbey in front. She has run good races when not leading however, so I think the $2.40 is backable considering she has a decent chance of leading, but also some versatility against this opposition.
NARROGIN RACE 6
The feature race at Narrogin will be the Group 3 Narrogin Cup (2662m). James Butt is the best-drawn of the better horses in the race and you can put the pen through the two inside horses who are sharply up in grade. James Butt is the most likely leader and he has been working through the grades nicely with four wins from his past six starts. He sat parked in 1:54.4 for the 1730m at Gloucester Park when defeating Just Bet On Black who has since won. That is inferior form to this race, but James Butt has won a couple of races by more than 10m. The sectionals that he is running should also be competitive here and leading is a nice place to be around the Narrogin circuit.
Simba Bromac, El Jacko, Always Arjay and Im Full Of Excuses are open-class horses and they all have each-way claims in the race. El Jacko is my second pick in the race and his versatility will bode well in this company, which doesn’t have as much depth as genuine FFA races. Attack On Command at big odds is a horse to watch to see if he can be competitive against this grade. His recent form is much improved and he will be trying to take the next step.
