Bay chasing more Menangle glory
STAR pacer Bay Of Biscay returns to the scene of his biggest win and on a new mission tomorrow (Saturday) night.
The last time the Victorian raider was at Menangle he both delighted and stunned harness fans.
The delight came when, after a string of placings in major races, he broke through for his biggest win in Australia’s top four-year-old race, the Group 1 Chariots Of Fire on March 1.
Connections then stunned Menangle officials when they politely declined an invitation to run in the $1mil Miracle Mile a week later.
Managing owner Tim Bunning made it clear at the time the regally-bred pacer had one major target in 2025 – the world’s richest harness race, the $2.1mil TAB Eureka at Menangle on September 6.
“Hopefully we can come back and run in the Miracle Mile next year, but for now everything is about the TAB Eureka,” he said.
Bay Of Biscay will become the first pacer to contest the TAB Eureka twice, The race is restricted to Australian three and four-year-olds.
He almost became the first three-year-old to win the race when he flashed home late for second to subsequent Miracle Mile and Inter Dominion winner Don Hugo last year.
“As soon as he came off the track that night, we set our sights on going one better this year,” Bunning said.
Bay Of Biscay was the first horse to secure a slot in this year’s TAB Eureka with leviathan WA owner-breeder Rob Watson using his Soho Standardbreds slot to lock in the star.
“No point waiting. He’s the horse to beat and if I can get him now, I’ll snap him up,” Watson said.
True to their word, trainers Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin have kept Bay Of Biscay in cotton wool since. He’s only raced eight times in the 11 months since for four wins and two seconds.
And he has only started once in the four months since winning the Chariots Of Fire, that was a narrow Melton win albeit in slick time on June 28.
Bay Of Biscay could have stayed home and raced in a 1720m free-for-all at Melton, but connections were happy to make the 10-hour road trip to Menangle for a truer TAB Eureka test just five weeks out from the race.
The entire faces a strong field, including recent Brisbane Inter Dominion finalists Captains Knock, Cya Art and Petes Said So, along with former stablemate Kingman, who set tongues wagging with a 35m win in sizzling time when having his first start for Luke McCarthy at Menangle last Saturday.
This is a serious test and one Bay Of Biscay, the $3.50 TAB Eureka favourite, needs given his light preparation so far.
In a big weekend for the TAB Eureka build-up, second favourite Fighter Command will try to secure his slot into the race by winning the $80,000 Beautide in Hobart.
The carries a golden ticket into the TAB Eureka through the Tasracing slot.
Fighter Command is the emotional favourite for this year’s race having won the Beautide last year, but a twisted bowel just days before the TAB Eureka forced him out the race and left him fighting for his life.
PHOTO: Bay Of Biscay winning Chariots Of Fire - Club Menangle/Pacepix