CAMERON Hart may find himself with a difficult decision next week after steering both heat winners in the Bathurst Harness Racing Club's annual Soldiers Saddle series on Wednesday night.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The talented reinsman came from last on the bell with the Steve Jones, Bathurst trained Surfing Clear ($7) to upset favourite Raging Sea ($1.95) by a head in the opening 1,730 metres heat.
An hour later in the second heat Hart again upset a favourite, this time getting the job done with $5.50 chance Mustang Milly for Vineyard trainer Trevor Munday.
Hart has never previously driven in the $15,000 Soldiers Saddle Final, but now could find himself with a pick of runners.
If given a choice it won't be easy, but Hart certainly enjoyed his chance to steer Surfing Clear in a race for the first time.
Hart had driven the lightly raced five-year-old in a qualifying trial at Menangle earlier in the month so was aware of his sprinting ability.
It meant he was happy to drop back to the rear of the field from the barrier eight draw in the heat, spotting the leader some 30 metres.
"He's beautiful to drive, he's a little gentleman, he's a good pacer. He's still a little green at times, but he's only had the five race starts so he's only going to keep getting better and better," he said.
"I tucked him in early, I knew he had a good turn of foot and good speed at the finish. So we just thought that I'd try to look after him early and hopefully try and come home over the top.
"Probably from about the 800, about the half mile I started to poke up around them three wide from there. I just let him poke up then I went for them about the 350."
While Surfing Clear was motoring as he hit the home straight, it was still tight on the line as David Hewitt's Raging Sea also sprinted strongly. Hart's runner got the nod, clocking a 1:57.2 winning mile rate.
"I wasn't sure, we were a fair way apart Dave and I up on the track, sometimes when you're that wide apart it's hard to tell who got there," Hart said.
"He was coming pretty quick as well, he was making ground on me, so I knew there was about a head in it, I was hoping it was my way and not his.
"He went well, he hit the line really well."
