PACING
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AT this stage of his career Saloon Passage is a rung below the absolute top three-year-olds in Australia, but Eglinton trainer-driver Nathan Hurst is confident the he can continue to improve.
The gelding confirmed his ability with an arrogant win in the Peter Lew Memorial Pace (2,120 metres) at Dubbo on Sunday, sitting outside handy Riverina pacer Business In Motion before putting his rival away with ease in the home straight.
Starting from the second line, Saloon Passage ($1.80 favourite) settled rearward early but when Business In Motion found the front and tried to slow the tempo, Hurst made his move.
He took the Elsu (NZ) x Rosesrredviletsrblue (NZ) gelding around the field and parked in the death seat, where he was able to dictate to the second favourite, which started a $2.70 chance with Blake Jones in the gig.
The only other runner given any chance by punters, Eagles Ace ($10.50, Drew Kenna), trailed that pair and down the back straight the last time, the trio cleared out from their rivals.
With the third quarter run in 28.4 seconds, Eagles Ace dropped off as the field entered the home straight. While Business In Motion tried hard, Saloon Passage pulled away from the field to win by 10 metres in a mile rate of 1:58.1.
At just his fourth start Snoop Stride ($22.30, Amanda Turnbull) ran on well for third and will be hard to beat when he drops back to his right grade.
Given Business In Motion made the finals of both the Bathurst Gold Crown and Bathurst Gold Chalice, Saloon Passage’s win over him was an indication of his potential.
Sunday’s win was the eighth of Saloon Passage’s 13-start career and took his earnings past the $40,000 mark.
“The only times he has missed a place for us is when he’s run fourths and fifths behind Bling It On in some big races, which is the best three-year-old in the country,” Hurst said.
“He’s right up there with the best pacers I’ve had anything to do with already, and he has so much more ahead of him.
“Business In Motion is a pretty tough horse, so I knew I had to be close to him. It’s nice when you’re driving one that you can park in a spot like that and have the confidence he is still going to be too good for them.
“In the end he did it really well, so I’ll press on with him and keep trying to find suitable races. The good thing about today was that the race was named after Peter Lew because him and his family have been really solid supporters of harness racing in this region for a long time.”