The P-Forty Seven 4yr-old pacer was in good form yesterday, starting with his good standing start manners and finishing with his 2-length win over open-class trotter The Fiery Ginga after driver Ali Malcolmson had held out Alan Clark's early bid for the lead with that horse.
Dance said scar tissue in Halfmoon Bay's mouth had been causing the gelding some problems, but he had varied his work to ease the pressure on the tender mouth.
''I don't put him in the cart very often,'' Dance said.
''I just put him on the lead with the jogger so he didn't have a bit in his mouth. I took the overcheck bit out of his mouth, so he has no overcheck - the less in his mouth, the better.
''It seems to be working.''
Halfmoon Bay will return to the scene of his sole victory on Saturday as he takes on a one-win field for $5000 at Ascot Park, although the race also carries a potential Harness Plus bonus for Halfmoon Bay and three other 4yr-olds.
Dance is just after a handy draw for the 2200m mobile, as he feels the lead is the best option for the gelding.
''If he can get his own way in front, he takes some pegging back - whether he's field-shy or not, I don't know.
''If we get one to four, I'll be rapt - and he goes away well from the gate, usually.''
The Fiery Ginga was adequate in second after Halfmoon Bay stole the middle sections of the 2200m with soft quarters.
Trainer Clark summed up the 24-win trotter's recent Auckland campaign in one word - ''terrible''.
''He doesn't handle the Auckland way of going round,'' Clark said.
''Blood tests later showed that he had a high potassium level, probably from different feeds and different electrolytes, so hopefully getting him home on the grass ... and getting back to his normal feed might help.
''He felt a bit flat today. He hasn't felt good for the last couple of months, really - just going through the motions without any real zip.''
The Fiery Ginga is nominated for Addington on Friday night and Ascot Park on Saturday, and Clark said he would assess the nominations before making his final decision.
One Clark-trained trotter who is heading south is Mr Majestic, who won his non-winners' trotting heat by 2 lengths over Blink.
''He isn't too far from winning a race,'' Clark said.
''Over 2700m down there, he'll be finishing on better than most of them.
''At the moment, he's in at Invercargill and Addington.''
