That string of results does raise questions over the four-year-old’s maturity and consistency, but according to regular driver Anglea Hedges, it has more to do with bad luck than anything else.

That Bathurst driver has been in the gig for a majority of Ned Pepper’s runs and she believes the Kate Jenner, Maimuru gelding is a good chance in tonight’s Menangle Where Horses Fly Country Series Heat (1,730 metres).

“Since he’s been back from a spell he won first up, then he was in a young drivers race and galloped, he did not have any luck. Then when I got back on him, he won and last week at Young it was a bit wet and he galloped out,” Hedges said.

“He just hasn’t had much luck.”

As the stable driver for the Jenners, Hedges has a good knowledge of what Ned Pepper is capable of.

Given the Dawn Ofa New Day x Cherie La Lee gelding has only had seven starts – a tendon injury meaning he did not race as a three-year-old – Hedges also knows Ned Pepper is still developing.

“It does help if you know the horse a bit better. I have been driving him since he was a two-year-old. He hasn’t done a lot of racing though, he had a bit of a training accident and had to have a break,” she said.

“He’s definitely got a lot tougher. I knew he was a nice horse the minute I first drove him, but he has only had a handful of starts, so he is still learning and maturing and we are still finding out what he can do.”

Set to go from barrier one tonight, Hedges claims Ned Pepper “has enough speed to hold his position”. If he can do that and go on to win, he will qualify for a $25,000 final at Menangle on August 29.

The Where Horses Fly Series – as well as Country Series, which will have heats staged at Bathurst tonight – is part of a Harness Racing NSW initiative to give older, lower graded horses the chance to earn some good prize money.

The heats offer a $10,000 purse, with half of that going to the victor.

“They’re a really good idea. When you have got a lower grade horse you want to win as much as you can, because some of these horses are not going to be good enough to make it through the grades,” Hedges said.

“With these races having good money, even when you come second it is like a win. It’s a good way to prolong a horse’s racing career.

“It gives these horses a chance to race on bit bigger tracks and you never know, they might fly. Menangle won’t worry him [Ned Pepper] if he makes it, he had a trial down there and went super.”

Tonight’s eight-race Bathurst Harness Racing Club meeting will get underway at 6.13pm.