Luke McCarthy. Photo by Brett Atkins
Gee this game is getting interesting. If you planned ahead, the cards may have fallen your way. But with only two trades a week and the focus shifting from Queensland to New South Wales in an almighty hurry, strategy has become more important than ever to maintain points-scoring momentum.
Cameron Hart pulled the one-wood out of his kit bag in round 5 and launched some big bombs from the Menangle tee. He hammered out a 60-point haul within the space of an hour with triple points victories aboard Swayzee and Bay of Biscay.
Luke McCarthy also cashed in deluxe with a triple point win with Don Hugo underpinning a big night for the coolest hand in the business. Don’t say we didn’t warn you! This is his time of year!
This was also a week of sheer accumulation in chunks of 10 as well, exemplified by the performance of James Herbertson in Victoria. Predictions of a major price drop were put to rest with his 117 across three race meetings. Non-owners (that is – me) paid the price for trading out Herbie and saw rankings slide as a consequence.
With the Ultimate Driver’s Championship points still impacting the price cycle we saw $200k gains across the board. That is – for all except Kate Gath who dropped $200k for the first time this season. Expect others to follow suit in the coming weeks given how lopsided the scoring was in round 5 for those drivers.
Nathan Dawson continues to climb though, cracking the ton yet again and is now perched on $3.488 million to remain the highest priced driver in the game.
Elsewhere, some key takeouts from round 5 included:
- For the first time this year, someone other than James Herbertson was the most popular captain choice. With the big points on offer in NSW coaches chased them through Cameron Hart and they were rewarded with a round high 129.
- Despite scoring just four points, Brad Hewitt rose by $200k on the back of his UDC exploits. A price drop is on the way but so are more points this weekend. The Locomotive will go around in a double points race on Saturday. Does that save him for another week for owners who held him in their teams?
- Dani Hill dominated the bonus points offering in South Australia on Sunday, winning both the Kadina Pacing and Trotters Cups for a 40-point gain.
- While the usual suspects all had solid to great weeks in Queensland, Shane Graham turned in his best round on the scoreboard with 51 to jump $111k.
- As for Brittany Graham, she’s off to New Zealand soon. After five rounds she’s yet to have a drive in a Fantasy Harness Racing assigned race. Come on Britt, there’s still time to register a stat before you go!
- Tiarna Ford has been the most owned driver in Tasmania and that’s grown each week on the back of great performances. She’s getting expensive now though - $923k – a massive earner from her base starting price.
- If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. Our esteemed podcast host Toby McKinnon has been banging the drum about the potential of Stuart McDonald in Western Australia. This week he picked up 20 points for a $149k price rise. Toby owes Stuey a beverage.
- There were some big gains in the west. Aiden De Campo was up $200k. So was Dylan Egerton-Green and Kyle Symington. Deni Roberts, Chris Lewis and Trent Wheeler all put around $150k or more on their price tag. How good are bonus points races!
Round 6 has plenty to offer with six races at Menangle on Saturday worth bonus points – three of them tripled – highlighted by the Miracle Mile. There are double points races on offer in Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia as well on another big weekend for the game.
Look ahead though. Going in all in on New South Wales may pay dividends this weekend but will you be set up for what’s to come as the bonus points jump the border in upcoming rounds? Planning and strategy is everything!
Rob Rumenovic knows that all too well. He’s a perennial top five finisher across the first two seasons and in round 5 added a weekly win to his honour roll with his team Boilover.
We also have a new overall leader with Larryandharry jumping to the top and becoming the first team to eclipse 4000 points in Season 3.
Don’t forget round 6 starts at Redcliffe on Thursday. You can get all the latest game relevant news on the official Fantasy Harness Racing podcast broadcast live on SEN at midday AEDT on Wednesday’s and through your favourite podcast platform. CLICK HERE to listen now!
Good luck in round 6!
