Plenty of punters and harness racing fans were eagerly awaiting the Stallion Station FHRC New Seasons Pace held last Friday night. Not only was it going to be the start to a new season of fantastic feature harness racing, but it was also going to be a battle between some of the top contenders in the pacing world. The race certainly didn’t let fans down.
Has The Answers, the race favourite, didn’t disappoint as the Tony Svilicich-trained gelding crossed the finish line in first position, beating out the competition by a margin of 4.90m. That’s great news for punters who backed the horse at SportsBet at 1.30 odds. He got off to a brilliant start with excellent gate speed. The brown gelding led the pace to the finish line, all the while keeping a comfortable lead. It’s a great kick off to the new season for the record setting gelding. Plenty of experts are expecting another fantastic season.
Motu Treasure finished in second after a fantastic start. The New Zealand horse was a frontrunner for many punters with 5.40 odds. With two laps to go, the bay gelding was just behind leader Has The Answers. It was a position that he never surrendered as he crossed the line second. Mysta Magical Mach (12.30) was touted as a strong contender, probably the only Svilicich-trained horse that could keep up with the speed of Has The Answers. While the ML Woodley-driven gelding didn’t quite match the speed of his stable mate, he did have a fairly successful run. He went into the final lap as the outside leader and managed to take a third place finish, 8.20 off of first place.
2010 New Seasons Pace Results:
| Place | Horse | Prize Money | Row & Br | Trainer | Driver | Margin (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Has The Answers | $16,750 | Fr8 | T Svilicich | AC Lewis | – |
| 2 | Motu Treasure NZ | $4,500 | Fr1 | GFJ Bond | CD Bond | 4.90 |
| 3 | Mysta Magical Mach NZ | $2,250 | Fr7 | T Svilicich | ML Woodley | 8.20 |
| 4 | All Courage NZ | $1,000 | Sr2 | GL Williams | GL Williams | 8.90 |
| 5 | Hy Royale | $500 | Fr5 | K Schreyvogel | TB Warwick | 10.40 |
| 6 | Surfin Superstar NZ | – | Fr3 | T Svilicich | CD Voak | 11.90 |
| 7 | Real Life | – | Fr6 | T Svilicich | G Inwood | 13.40 |
| 8 | Flamin Tact NZ | – | Sr1 | CA King | RG Williams | 14.10 |
| 9 | Spirit of Shard NZ | – | Sr3 | GE Hall (Snr) | GE Hall (Jnr) | 17.40 |
| 10 | Next Tiger | – | Fr2 | T Svilicich | BW Kersley | 20.60 |
| 11 | Bakerandthefatman | – | Fr4 | M White | SJ Suvalko | 22.70 |