Racing: Worth a jug ...

The harness racing fans on Twitter last Friday went a little bit crazy.

Upon checking out the Little Brown Jug on Youtube, I can see why.

The County Fairgrounds in Delaware, Ohio (not Delaware the state) was packed with about 46,000 fans around the half-mile track, and they were NOT disappointed.

Wiggle It Jiggleit went forward to tackle Artspeak with a lap to go, and the two of them put the hammer down.

The 27sec quarters kept mounting up and it was no surprise the last quarter-mile was the slowest.

 

... or two

But what was surprising was the way Wiggle It Jiggleit (how cool a name is that, by the way) came back.

He didn't handle the bends on the tight track all that well, and dropped a good 11/2 lengths off Artspeak at the top of the stretch.

To see his driver Montrell Teague eke just that little bit more out of him and to watch him haul in Artspeak right on the line in a time just over 1.49 was pretty impressive.

Anyway, my words can't do it justice, so search for 2015 Little Brown Jug on Youtube.

Not sure I completely agree with the announcer's claim it was the greatest race in the history of harness racing, but that's American hyperbole for you.

 

Nothing doing

So the first report into the Hastings abandonment two weeks ago has - and I quote - ''been unable to identify any physical issue that contributed to the abandonment''.

Well, I can only imagine that's relatively unsatisfying to the trainers and owners who floated their horses to Hastings and back for the black-type races only to return home again without a race under the belt.

The good news - at this stage, at least - for connections with runners in the Livamol Classic is there has been at least 145ml of rainfall in Hastings, yet the track should be pretty close to dead, and the rain has all soaked through to the soil below.

Heaven help us if there are problems tomorrow.

 

Lazy Fiver

Well, blow me down with some form of feather.

The Lazy (Twenty) Fiver got off to a top start with Amazon Lily's win at Addington on Friday night. Our first winner, Carl, is $45 richer as a result.

I hope I can continue it this week for Ray Fidow, of Dunedin, who was drawn out of our entries.

Speaking of entries, let's get a few more in - this is (potentially) free money we're handing out here!

With the draw and form in his favour, I can't go past Ryan Mark ($2) in race 8 at Hastings tomorrow.

 


This week's question: Who won last night's Spring Cup at Alexandra Park? (Hint: check the results on page 14 of print). Email the answers to the address below with your contact number (and TAB account if you have one).matt.smith@odt.co.nz

- Check out Matt's two-minute racing tips video at www.odt.co.nz every Friday


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