SHARP Shooter might not have been able to capitalise on his gate speed at the Bathurst Paceway, but on Sunday at Parkes it was a different story.
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This time after getting away well from the mobile barrier, the Nathan Hurst trained and driven three-year-old went on to post an all the way win in the Terry Brothers Pace (1,660 metres).
Whereas a 19.4m fourth was the best Sharp Shooter had managed at his home track, this time he held off short-priced favourite Baby Bee Mine ($1.55) to win by 1.1m.
It was the first victory of the Passmaster Hanover x Roulette Rhythm gelding's five-start career.
The Eglinton trainer put it down to the Parkes track which has a 767 metres circumference compared to Bathurst's 1064.87m.
"It probably was a little bit unexpected. He's been racing at Bathurst and I think being able to race at Parkes is what really helped him," Hurst said.
"He's always showing good speed and just hasn't really handled the bigger track, so I think that probably was the key. There's nothing you can do about it, they either go well at Bathurst or they don't, and he's one of those horses that likes the smaller track, so he'll probably stick to Parkes and Dubbo."
Sharp Shooter ($26) was one of two winners Hurst had at Sunday's meeting, with stablemate Getaloadathisbro ($6.50) saluting in the Group 1 Winner Terryrama Pace (1,660m).
He also did it in all the way fashion, peeling off a 28.6 seconds final sectional to beat out Toolittletoolate ($34) by 3.1m.
"On them smaller tracks if you've got the gate speed and can get to the front in a spot, it's a big help," Hurst said.
Sunday's meeting was the first in the Central West held outside of Bathurst since the coronavirus pandemic, Harness Racing NSW lifting it single regional-venue measures.
While Hurst enjoyed the ease of racing at Bathurst, he is happy to be able to support other clubs in the region once more.
"Everyone from Parkes and Dubbo has had to travel to Bathurst every meeting, there's a few that didn't miss many. So they've been doing a lot of travel and it's good for us to support Parkes and Dubbo because they put so much back into their prize money. They do a good job," he said.
