There was plenty of harness racing over the weekend as the best in the pacing world took to the tracks for the start of a new season. Though, one of the biggest, most anticipated races had to be The Battle of the Claimers held at Tabcorp Park on Friday night. While plenty of potential owners were there to check out the competition, the trainers, drivers, and horses were prepared to compete in some high stakes competition.
The Battle of the Claimers kicked off with the first heat being the first on the night’s card. It was somewhat of a surprising finish as Palomine finished in the top position. This is fantastic news for punters who chose the bay gelding as he paid out at 5.40 odds. Race favourite Our Sand Fly didn’t fare too badly, finishing in a close third place just 3.10 off the race leader. Ticket Time took second.
Plenty were expecting Anvils Revival to take the win, though the New Zealand horse had a very disappointing run. He finished in 11th position.
Battle of the Claimers Heat 1 Results:
| Place | Horse | Prize Money | Row & Br | Trainer | Driver | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Palomine NZ | $5,400 | Sr5 | BA Lilley | G Lang | – |
| 2 | Ticket Time | $1,200 | Sr1 | JM Mifsud | PJ Walters | 1.60 |
| 3 | Our Sand Fly NZ | $800 | Fr2 | GF Douglas | DK Douglas | 3.10 |
| 4 | Just Stay N Alive NZ | $400 | Fr1 | A Xiriha | A Xiriha | 6.90 |
| 5 | Vintage Direct | $200 | Sr6 | JA Cavallaro | TJ Dyer | 7.80 |
| 6 | Indi Gloves | – | Fr5 | MJ Miles | L Miles | 11.40 |
| 7 | Jefferson NZ | – | Sr4 | MA Laugher | GR Sugars | 12.00 |
| 8 | Spider Nelson | – | Sr3 | MG Gath | MG Gath | 12.20 |
| 9 | Lombo Limmo | – | Fr6 | TE Pullicino | JJ Caldow | 13.80 |
| 10 | Hot Night In Paris NZ | – | Sr2 | JD Justice | JD Justice | 17.00 |
| 11 | Anvils Revival NZ | – | Fr4 | AA Barber | BR Gath | 18.40 |
| 12 | Farouk | – | Fr3 | DA Riseley | DP Barbetti | 23.70 |
The second heat in The Battle of the Claimers was another shocking finish. There were six major contenders going into this harness race, but only one managed to live up to the hype. Miami Rocket – a 3.20 favourite, crossed the line in first place to take the top prize of $5,400. The DK Douglas-driven gelding started the race three wide. He moved up to the outside leader before overtaking the field in the final moments of the race.
Upward Ever Upward was the only other top contender that placed in this qualifying heat. The BK Woodhouse-trained gelding finished in third position, 7.80m off the race leader and right behind second place finisher The Timely Trader. Flying Class, Way Up High, and Awesome Alto were all expected to do well in this field but finished fifth, seventh, and ninth respectively.
The Battle of the Claimers Heat 2 Results:
| Place | Horse | Prize Money | Row & Br | Trainer | Driver | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami Rocket NZ | $5,400 | Fr6 | GF Douglas | DK Douglas | – |
| 2 | The Timely Trader NZ | $1,200 | Fr3 | A Spiteri | NA McCallum | 6.30 |
| 3 | Upward Ever Upward | $800 | Sr5 | BK Woodhouse | SW Dyer | 7.80 |
| 4 | Hitemup | $400 | Fr2 | DP Barbetti | DP Barbetti | 12.30 |
| 5 | Flying Class NZ | $200 | Fr4 | J Borg | DR Wilson | 12.80 |
| 6 | Mister Douglas | – | Sr2 | JD Taylor | G Lang | 16.50 |
| 7 | Way Up High | – | Fr5 | TE Pullicino | BR Gath | 18.80 |
| 8 | Just Make Our Deigh NZ | – | Sr4 | TE Pullicino | MJ Bellman | 20.70 |
| 9 | Awesome Alto | – | Sr1 | ABJ Dunsmuir | JJ Caldow | 22.00 |
| 10 | Class Mate | – | Fr1 | MJ Watt | JL King | 24.80 |
| 11 | The Last Dance | – | Sr3 | GD Hoban | CD Hoban | 31.70 |
It seems it was a night for surprises as heat three produced another unlikely winner. Jay Bee Aitch and Dhoni were expected to do well, though neither managed to place in the top three. The former fared the best, finishing in fourth and 10.20m off the race leader. Punters who backed race favourite Dhoni were most certainly disappointed with the horses sixth place finish.
Dark Duncan surprised harness racing fans by crossing the line first. The DK Douglas-driven gelding had fantastic gate speed and led at the bell. He finished with a very convincing 8.10m over the second place finisher. Altivo and Brulea Charlie (another favourite going into the race) rounded out the top three.
The Battle of the Claimers Heat 3 Results:
| Place | Horse | Prize Money | Row & Br | Trainer | Driver | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dark Duncan NZ | $5,400 | Fr6 | GF Douglas | DK Douglas | – |
| 2 | Altivo | $1,200 | Fr4 | L Miles | L Miles | 8.10 |
| 3 | Brulea Charlie | $800 | Sr4 | DF Braun | GR Sugars | 8.30 |
| 4 | Jay Bee Aitch | $400 | Fr3 | JM Mifsud | PJ Walters | 10.20 |
| 5 | Cam Rouge | $200 | Fr5 | JE Davies | NR Jack | 10.50 |
| 6 | Dhoni | – | Sr2 | PW Tonkin | G Lang | 13.40 |
| 7 | Twickenham | – | Sr6 | R Cartwright | CA Turnbull | 14.60 |
| 8 | Blachford | – | Sr1 | TA Croton | MJ Bellman | 15.40 |
| 9 | Blak Washout NZ | – | Sr5 | TE Pullicino | JJ Caldow | 15.60 |
| 10 | Village In Vesa | – | Sr3 | MG Gath | MG Gath | 16.80 |
| 11 | Mister Chequebook NZ | – | Fr1 | ML Hutton | ML Hutton | 18.20 |
| 12 | The Urban Legend NZ | – | Fr2 | A Xiriha | A Xiriha | 30.00 |
Don’t forget that the first four finishers in these qualifying heats will be going on to appear in The Battle of the Claimers Final event. It will be held at Tabcorp Park on September 9, so stay tuned for a full preview of the race. Plus, you can check out all the results and odds on pacing events throughout Australia at SportsBet.