Thoughts of a 3-year-old winning TAB Eureka no longer a laugh

by Adam Hamilton

It is fascinating how mindsets can change.

Wind the clock back to the inaugural running of the world’s richest pacing race (in 2023), the TAB Eureka, and the calls were loud and plentiful saying a 3-year-old would never win the race.

The TAB Eureka, which now carries a $1.5 million purse, is restricted to Australian-bred 3- and 4-year-old pacers.

That first running was won by classy 4-year-old mare Encipher, who shocked everyone by running down the great Leap To Fame.

There were just two 3-year-olds in the 10-horse field and they were well beaten back in seventh (The Lost Storm) and ninth (Captain Hammerhead).

And that’s despite the 3-year-olds getting preferential barrier draws and starting from posts 1 and 2 behind the gate.

The feeling was 4-year-olds, especially over a grueling 2,400-meter distance at the spacious 1,400-meter Menangle track, would continually be too strong and seasoned.

Unsurprisingly, there was only one 3-year-old, Bay Of Biscay, line-up in the second TAB Eureka in 2024.

And that was despite the distance being reduced by 100 meters to 2,300 meters, which changed the starting point and made those preferential barriers even more of an advantage.

Harness Racing Australia, which had created and strongly backed the TAB Eureka, knew Bay Of Biscay needed to run very well or the pressure would mount to revisit the race conditions for the race.

He ran a blinder and, arguably, was a good thing beaten when he charged home late for second to Don Hugo.

Just like that, the stigma around the 3-year-olds was gone.

There’s no doubt the slightly shorter distance and, more so, the starting point for the race was an important and smart change.

Fast-forward to last year’s third running of the TAB Eureka and slot owners were jumping out of trees to pick 3-year-olds.

Amazingly, six of the10 runners were 3.

Ironically, Bay Of Biscay returned to win the race as a 4-year-old, but 3-year-olds ran superbly for second (Fox Dan), third (Hesitate), and fourth (Go Miki).

In a different way, Bay Of Biscay coming back a year later to win also helped the 3-year-old push. Clearly tackling the TAB Eureka at 3 hadn’t hindered his progress in any way.

Now the whole anti 3-year-old vibe is gone, despite the fact none of them have yet won the race.

Another tinker from Harness Racing Australia and hosts Club Menangle and Harness Racing NSW have seen 3-year-olds become an even more attractive option.

The TAB Eureka has moved from an early-September timeslot to Nov. 21.

The 3-year-olds are almost three months older and a lot more seasoned through their own age-group feature racing.

To help promote the race, many of the 3-year-olds get a chance to grow more of a profile in that extra time, too.

So, with just over three weeks until this year’s TAB Eureka, three of the four confirmed slot runners — Bettor Beach, Soho Charmer, and Loucasso — are 3-year-olds.

Bettor Beach has created history even before the race is run by being the first 3-year-old filly to land a slot.

Leviathan owner Mick Harvey secured her this week through one of his two slots in the TAB Eureka, held under his publication brand Harnesslink.

Harvey said he didn’t hesitate to pick the filly.

“I think she was a no-brainer,” he said. “She has to draw barrier 1 if she’s the only 3-year-old filly in it and being run a couple months later this year, she’ll almost be 4 anyway.

“I’ve done all my analysis, and I think she’s got a huge chance.”

Bettor Beach has raced just 10 times, but it’s been her past five wins, including two at Group 1 level, that have stamped her star status.

On Saturday (Oct. 17) she thrashed a good field of fillies in the Group 1 Victoria Oaks at Melton.

“That’s the win that convinced me,” Harvey said. “She’s never been used off the gate but had to burn early that night and then she was still good enough to relax mid-race and burn home in a pair of :26 quarters to win as she liked.

“She’s shown she can handle pressure, which is important for a race like this, and that she’s got enough speed to take advantage of barrier 1 in the Eureka and hold a position.

“The Victoria Derby was on the same night as the Oaks and I reckon she went as good as any of the boys did in that Derby.”

Successful yet conservative Victorian breeders Bruce and Vicki Edward obviously think the same way given they excitedly snapped up the slot when Harvey called them.

“Bruce was buzzing when I called him,” Harvey said.

Soho Charmer, who will run in the Soho Standardbreds slot of his owner Rob Watson, ran third in that Victoria Derby.

The other confirmed 3-year-old, Loucasso, is the headline horse of this TAB Eureka.

He made it four wins from as many starts this campaign and 11 wins from 13 career starts when he smashed the clock at Menangle last Saturday night in a semi-final of the NSW Breeders Challenge at Menangle.

Loucasso ran the mile in a scorching 1:47.6, taking 1.2 seconds off the Australasian record for a 3-year-old.

He’s broken 1:50 in all four wins since joining young trainer/driver Seaton Grima’s stable this campaign.

For context, Loucasso’s 1:47.6 was just 0.7 seconds outside the all-age Australasian mile record of 1:46.9 set by My Field Marshal in the 2018 Miracle Mile.

Loucasso, who will run in the Rampant Standardbreds slot, steps out again in the Breeders Challenge final this Saturday night.

The query on him is whether he can carry that brilliance to the 2,300 meters of the TAB Eureka.

That said, Loucasso has only raced beyond a sprint trip twice and won both times in a semi-final and final of the 2YO Breeders Crown series at Melton last year when trained by Emma Stewart.

And he did win that final by about half the straight in a scorching 1:52.2 mile rate for 2,240 meters.

With six slots still to be filled, it looks very likely the six 3-year-olds who contested last year’s TAB Eureka will be matched or broken.

The only 4-year-old with a slot so far is the exciting Double Lou, who has the Tony Licastro “The Don” slot. He also contests a NSW Breeders Challenge final this Saturday night.

Some of the other high profile 3-year-olds sure to push for slots include Yottie and Alert Bay, who will clash with Loucasso this week, along with Victorian pair Brooklyn Dan and Dynamitedan.

A left-fielder could be another buzz 3-year-old filly, Ark Sea, who is favorite for her NSW Breeders Challenge final this week.

On the 4-year-old front, horses like last week’s SA Cup winner The Last Trip, star WA pacer Mad Monday, exciting mare Theartofsuccess, the untapped Cigano, and multiple Group 1-winning Queenslander Fate Awaits are all right in the mix.

That’s the beauty of slot races, the chatter and debate they create around who will get a start well before the actual race is run.

This year, the odds say we will see history created with a 3-year-old winning.

And that’s such a far cry from just three years ago when they were scoffed at.