Don Hugo. Photo by Club Menangle
Trainer Luke McCarthy’s decision to drive Don Hugo has added weight to the entire’s chances of winning this Saturday night’s TAB Eureka at Menangle.
The Eureka is the world's richest harness race and McCarthy's choice to take the seat behind Don Hugo over stablemate Eye Keep Smiling was the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle that has been this year's race.
The lead-up to the Eureka has involved plenty of intrigue as the line-up has gradually taken shape with a few substitutions along the way, the latest twist occurring earlier this week when Rising Sun winner Wisper A Secret was called in to the field as a late replacement for the ailing Fighter Command.
Don Hugo has form around the Queenslander, finishing a brave and luckless second to him in the G1 Rising Sun in July.
That was part of a successful Brisbane carnival that saw Don Hugo emerge as a real Eureka contender having last raced when beating older rivals from the back row in the Blacks A Fake consolation at Albion Park.
That victory was over 2680m so he is tough and he also owns a strong record at the 2300m distance of the Eureka, an important factor in a race where many of the combatants are more accomplished at the mile.
Don Hugo has been freshened since Brisbane but was kept ticking over with two trial wins.
He starts from closer to the outside of the line than the pegs but has the form to win if the breaks go his way.
Luck could also determine the fate of boom WA pacer Never Ending who will have to overcome the widest barrier in his bid for a successful raid on the Eureka.
Never Ending arrived in Sydney with a terrific strike rate and was a real eye-catcher in his first local appearance when also drawn the extreme outside, settling at the rear before steaming home for second against older rivals.
It's never an easy task to win from out there but the draw does give him time to balance up and he is a big talent so class could still get him home.
Sure Thing Captain gained his Eureka berth at the eleventh hour by winning at Menangle last week where he led and kicked on strongly.
More pressure is likely in the Eureka but he is the lowest drawn of the four-year-old males and can push forward again so could prove hard to catch.
Wisper A Secret draws on his outside and it is a barrier that gives him every chance to take advantage of his late call-up.
The preferential barrier draw conditions of the Eureka mean the two mares Eye Keep Smiling and Major Delight should both secure soft runs in their attempt to follow in the footsteps of inaugural Eureka winner Encipher.
Both mares are highly-accomplished multiple Group 1 winners with good strike rates and Eye Keep Smiling in particular owns a strong record at this distance so both are prospects for a top-three finish.
Some of the country's top milers will do battle in the night's other feature, the Group 1 Len Smith Mile.
The race has drawn together a stacked field of accomplished pacers from multiple states and the race promises to be an interesting betting affair.
Major Moth holds early favouritism after drawing the coveted inside draw.
The six-year-old has won all three starts since joining Jason Grimson for this campaign, making a successful first visit to Menangle last start where he led from wider and kept going to score by 3.7m.
His three wins this prep have all been over further so the drop back to the mile is a new challenge but he did win his only attempt at it and possesses the gate speed to take advantage of the inside draw.
Last week's resuming winner Speak The Truth looks a betting prospect as he has the statistics to suggest the Len Smith Mile is a winnable race for him.
Speak The Truth has raced at this circuit and distance four times for three wins and a Miracle Mile placing and flies second-up with four wins and a placing from five attempts so should be improved.
Catch A Wave is a previous Miracle Mile winner over the distance at Menangle and showed good improvement in the last-start second at Melton.
He has won four of six third-up attempts so should be ready to peak.
Better Eclipse will have to overcome a wide draw but looks to have returned in terrific order having come from the back row to beat Catch A Wave in his resuming win while Mach Dan goes well at the mile and must be respected off back-to-back Melton wins.
Listen to the Racing & Sports TAB Eureka Podcast below:
Racing & Sports Podcasts · The TAB Eureka Podcast
