Focus on pacing

By David Nagel
AN awesome line-up of Grand Circuit pacers will descend upon Cranbourne on Saturday night for the running of this year’s $100,000 Decron Cranbourne Pacing Cup at Group One level.
Headlined by superstar West Australian and defending race champion Im Themightyquinn, this year’s Cranbourne Cup field looms as the finest in its 48 year history.
Im Themightyquinn has drawn barrier four for the biggest event on the Cranbourne Harness calendar and heads into the race in peak form after a freakish display in last week’s Popular Alm FFA at Tabcorp Park.
The seven-time Group One winner looks likely to live up to his name and be mighty hard to beat from the front row on Saturday night.
Brilliant Bendigo mare Make Mine Cullen was another to fare well at the barrier draw, plucking gate one for the Victoria Cup carnival’s night one feature.
The news wasn’t so good for Luke McCarthy’s reigning Victoria Cup king Mr Feelgood, who will start from inside the second line from barrier eight and will need plenty of luck for success.
Elevated to Group One level and an outstanding purse of $100,000 for the first time last year, the Decron Cranbourne Pacing Cup is now attracting the highest quality pacers from both Australia and across the Tasman.
A fact embraced by Cranbourne HRC chief executive David Scott ahead of his club’s biggest annual race night.
“We have a super field assembled for this year’s Cup and as a club we are excited by that prospect,” he said.
“Certainly our move to increase stake money to $100,000 in 2010 and the decision to move the race into its December timeslot has paid huge dividends in terms of the calibre of horses we are able to attract.”
Already won by such standardbred luminaries as Paleface Adios, Gammalite and Golden Reign (twice) the 2555-metre feature is now one of Victoria’s most sought after races and is sure to crown a more than worthy winner on Saturday night.
In the program’s square-gaiting feature; the Group 1 Aldebaran Park Bill Collins Trotters Mile, dual Inter Dominion-winner and reigning race champion Sundons Gift landed barrier six.
One of three runners trained by team Lang at Nagambie, his biggest obstacle may be a new recruit to Chris Lang Jnr’s stable, Miss Warbucks.
Always handy, that mare confirmed her emergence as a feature race force when winning the NSW Trotters Mile last start and will leave from gate two if the emergency is removed.
Six-year-old Down Under Muscles, in barrier one, and brilliant beginner I Didnt Do It, in barrier three, were other big names to draw well in the $60,000 sprint.