A WEEK after springing a Group level surprise at Albion Park with Tact Tate, Amanda Turnbull will return to try and guide him to the biggest win of his career.
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Her six-year-old will line up in the $200,540 Blacks A Fake Queensland Championship – the final leg of the 2017-18 Australian Pacing Gold Grand Circuit.
The Group 1 feature has attracted a crack field, including Tim Butt’s talented Kiwi raiders Let It Ride, who is chasing his sixth win in a row, and My Field Marshal (1:46.9).
But in winning last Saturday’s Sunshine Sprint (Group 2) as a $14.70 chance, Tact Tate can not be dismissed.
From barrier six – the same draw the son of McArdle has for the Queensland Championship – Tact Tate flew out to take the lead. Though then handing up, he got home well to win the feature in a 1:53.0 mile rate.
“It was a little bit of a surprise. We knew he was going well and he’d had a couple of runs back from a spell, so we knew he’d be ready to go,” the The Lagoon trainer-driver said of the Sunshine Sprint.
While the Queensland Championship is over the longer 2,680 metres trip, Tact Tate has proven himself over that sort of distance previously. He won the 2017 edition of the Group 1 Bohemia Crystal Free For All at Menangle over 2,400m.
Turnbull is also very familiar with the Albion Park, have frequently driven there during her career.
“It’s a pretty hot field and a longer distance this week,” Turnbull, currently the most successful driver in NSW this season, said.
“He has won over 2,400 at Menangle, but he wasn’t used early so we’ll just have to see.
“It [gate six] makes a it little bit tricky, it’s a little bit wider than I want to be, but we’ll still head forward and see how we go.
“I’ve raced there a fair bit, it’s a good track. I’ve raced there my whole life, it seems like forever, so I know it pretty well.”
The race, which also features Steve Turnbull’s consistent performer Atomic Red, starts at 8.40pm.