GUN driver Cam Hart is a man in demand.
Fresh from winning two of the key races on Inter Dominion night last Saturday, some of the biggest names in the game have been rallying to get Hart aboard their horses for night two this Saturday.
“It’s good to have options, a nice problem to have,” Hart said.
After a dramatic and fascinating start to the week, Hart has landed on Cardigan Jem in Saturday night’s $500,000 Group 1 Protostar, Australasia’s richest juvenile race.
Most thought Hart would drive the Jason Grimson-trained Jacwill Kid, who was a clear Protostar favourite before sustaining an injury in his final lead-up win at Albion Park last Saturday night.
Focus then turned to which of the three runners from the powerhouse Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin stable Hart would drive, primarily between their two favoured pair Comeandsee and Cardigan Jem.
He is aboard Cardigan Jem, who has two wins and two seconds from just four starts and the decided advantage of gate one. Mark Pitt will drive filly Comeandsee, who is unbeaten three starts.
It’s the right stable to drive for in the Protostar with Stewart and Tonkin boasting a win (Loucasso last year) and close second (The Highlight Reel in 2024) in the two years the innovative race has been run.
Switch to the Inter Dominion series where Hart drove two key Grand Final contenders – Captains Mistress and Bay Of Biscay – to win last Saturday night.
He is a lock to drive Captains Mistress in Saturday week’s $1 million final and is already pondering how to dethrone dual Inter Dominion champion Leap To Fame.
“She’s good enough to beat him, but we’ll need things to go our way,” Hart said.
Given his commitment to Captains Mistress in the final, the matrix has changed a bit for the second round of heats.
Hart will drive Captains Mistress again on Saturday night, in what should be little more than a trial against just four rivals in the Kevin Thomas 4YO Feature.
But he will surrender the reins on Bay Of Biscay, to drive the Grimson-trained Dangerous from a better draw in the first of Saturday night’s pacing heats.
Australia’s premier driver James Herbertson has picked up the drive on Bay Of Biscay, an $11 shot from an outside back row draw (gate 11).
It makes sense for Hart to drive Dangerous, who ran a luckless eighth on night one, but is a $1.60 favourite to bounce back from a dream draw (gate one) on Saturday.
Hart’s only drive in the trotting heats is Grimson’s new stable addition, Toro Stride, in race four.
He also takes the reins for Grimson on classy mare Tokyo Rose, who will be a major player in the mares’ feature, the Ladyship Stakes.
PHOTOS: Toby Coutts
