Perhaps half of the $2.1 million TAB Eureka’s field could be 3-year-olds

The richest race in the world, to be contested Sept. 6 at Menangle, is open to 3- and 4-year-olds.

by Adam Hamilton

Exciting young Aussie pacer Bay Of Biscay has changed the face of the world’s richest harness race and now he might win it, too.

Until the regally bred colt (by Somebeachsomewhere out of McArdle mare Nike Franco) ran a luckless second in last year’s $A2.1 million TAB Eureka, most felt it was folly running a 3-year-old in the race restricted to 3- and 4-year-old Australian-bred pacers.

Perhaps they were too quick to make the call given the race is just two years old.

And the judgment was cast after just the first running when only two of the 10 starters were 3-year-olds and they finished seventh (The Lost Storm) and ninth (Captain Hammerhead), respectively.

It was further fuelled when The Lost Storm, who was the star Aussie 3-year-old of the time, failed to show anything like his best form after the TAB Eureka run.

Some even speculated last year’s second running of the race wouldn’t have a 3-year-old in it.

They weren’t far wrong; there was only one.

There were to be two, but the big, raw and untapped Fighter Command was struck down with a twisted bowel and scratched from last year’s TAB Eureka just days before it.

That left only Bay Of Biscay.

Despite leviathan owner/breeder Kevin Seymour using his slot to secure Bay Of Biscay, he wasn’t given much of a chance at odds of $13 (to win for a $1 bet).

He was buried in traffic while leader and winner Don Hugo dictated terms in front and kicked clear, but Bay Of Biscay rocketed home late to be beaten just 2.2m.

“I think he’d have gone very close to winning had we got out and been able to build momentum when we needed to,” driver Cam Hart said.

In a huge twist of irony, Bay Of Biscay will return this year to Menangle on Sept. ٦ as a 4-year-old and many of his key rivals will be 3-year-olds.

Depending on who you talk to, there will be three, four or maybe even five 3-year-olds in this TAB Eureka.

Seymour is one of the many converts.

“I was a bit sceptical about the 3-year-olds, but felt Bay Of Biscay was worth the risk last year because he’s shown how tough he was in some of the Derbys,” he said.

“Sure he had a soft run, but he showed he could’ve won the race with the right luck.

“I left Menangle that night thinking I’d be very happy to run the right 3-year-old in the race again and that’s probably what I’ll end up doing.”

Seymour has star 3-year-old pair Fate Awaits and Path To Greatness right in the mix, not only for his own slot but with interest from others still hunting for a runner.

Harness Racing Australia outgoing CEO and TAB Eureka brainchild, Andrew Kelly, said an important learning from the inaugural TAB Eureka had also helped the cause of the 3-year-olds.

“That first year the race was run over 2,400m, but we changed it to 2,300m after some robust feedback,” Kelly said.

“It was all about the starting point on the track for those two distances. To encourage 3-year-olds to run, we gave them preferential (inside) barrier draws from day one, but the trainers and drivers told us the inside draws were actually a disadvantage at the 2,400m starting point.

“It’s hard for horses to muster speed from the inside draws over 2,400m, but they get a much better run at the gate from 2,300m.”

Champion Victorian trainer Emma Stewart is best placed of anyone to assess the merit of running 3-year-olds in the TAB Eureka.

Not only did she train 4-year-old mare Encipher to win the first year, but she also trains Bay Of Biscay.

Further, Stewart trained The Lost Storm, the 3-year-old who sparked concerns in 2023.

“Now they’ve got the starting point right, the preferential draws are just the advantage you need to run the right sort of 3-year-old,” she said.

Bay Of Biscay, who has Rob Watson’s Soho Standardbreds slot, is Stewart’s only confirmed runner this year.

But she has at least another four genuine contenders racing at the moment and three of them are 3-year-olds: Fox Dan, Go Miki and The Highlight Reel.

“They’re all good enough to run if they can get slots,” she said.

So, how many 3-year-olds can we expect to line-up on Sept. 6?

Of the four slots confirmed so far, only the Luke McCarthy-trained Hesitate (John Singleton’s slot) is 3. The three 4-year-olds assured of runs are: Bay Of Biscay, Fighter Command (Tasracing slot) and Call To Order (Racing Queensland slot).

But seven of the most prominent contenders for the remaining six slots are 3-year-olds.

Along with Stewart’s trio, there are Grant Dixon’s (Kevin Seymour-owned) pair Fate Awaits and Path To Greatness.

Then there is the fascinating Seathestars, a Geoff Webster-trained Victorian 3-year-old, who is named after champion Irish thoroughbred of the same name and owned by one of Down Under’s greatest ever thoroughbred trainers, John Hawkes.

Insiders say he’s close to securing a slot.

There’s still a lot to play out in the three weeks until the field is finalised, but if I was to guess, I would say half the field (five of the 10 runners) will be 3.

Seymour’s business genius could see him find a way to get both Fate Awaits and Path To Greatness in.

Given Stewart’s openly huge wrap on her 3-year-olds, two of Fox Dan, Go Miki or The Highlight Reel should land slots.

And then there is Seathestars who, if the mail is right, will also get a ticket in.

With each 3-year-old, the task of the 4-year-olds gets harder as the best barrier draw they can start from gets wider.

All 10 TAB Eureka runners start across the front row on the spacious 1,400m Menangle track.

The next few weeks and how the post positions pan out promises to be a delicious entrée to the race itself.