PACING
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IT’S an all out assault in today’s feature Parkes Leagues Club Golden Bar Final as eight Bathurst runners in the field of 10 fight it out over 2,040 metres.
The Bathurst based contingent will be giving themselves every chance to claim the $15,000 three-year-old race with Forbes’ Jason Gaffney and Eugowra’s Pat Jones the only non-Bathurst trainers in the running.
Mark Butler’s The Lagoon trained Jester Oh Jester would be a familiar name to some given his impressive two-year-old campaign.
However, he hadn’t been seen for over nine months before he lined up in his Golden Bar heat. He placed second
In just his four career starts he is the one with the big racing next to his name – a third place in last year’s Group 1 Gold Crown behind Allblack Stride and Haka Shannon.
Jester Oh Jester has never finished outside the top three and gets the chance to extend that today after drawing well in gate one.
In barrier three is Mitch Braxton for trainer-driver John O’Shea, a gelding who boasts a winning strike rate of 50 per cent thus far.
He too has raced against good company, including at Menangle Park where he lost to some of the state’s best three-year-olds in Yayas Hot Spot and Bling It On.
Butler’s second runner in Markey Oh Markey goes out from the tricky draw of two wide on the second row, but has the best winning mile rate of any runner in the field at a flat two minutes.
Peter Bullock gained no favours from the draw gods as Diesel Shannon and Kapow Shannon go from third and fourth on the second row respectively.
Kapow Shannon had an extensive two-year-old career with 25 starts already under her belt, but her narrow second in Monday’s second heat shows there is plenty of hope for this campaign.
Other members of the Bathurst raid include another seasoned three-year-old in Tulhurst Jailbreak for Nathan Hurst, who goes widest on the second row.
Bernie Hewitt’s filly Alphitonia starts four wide on the front and Marys Little Rose for Steve Turnbull completes the eight-pronged Bathurst attack from the inside of the back row.
The race presents an interesting opportunity for the young horses to build their careers, resurrect some form or make a comeback and gets underway tonight at 8pm.