Look ahead to this weekend's harness racing action in our weekly preview, thanks to Darren Clayton.
The Queensland Summer Harness Season rolls on at Albion Park this Saturday night with feature racing for the juveniles.
A total of five races on the card are dedicated to the Sunshine Stars Sales Classics, with the races restricted to those horses that were sold or were entered in the 2023 Nutrien Sunshine Stars Sale.
The headline races will be the $125,000 pacing Finals to be held for each sex, while the trotters will contest $25,000 Finals for each sex.
Also on the program, race five will see the return of classy pacer Tims A Trooper from the Grant Dixon stable.
Sidelined by injury since February, Tims A Trooper faces a tricky race first-up with the speedy Captain Shuffles drawn to his inside.
COOL WILL BE TOO CLASSY
Grant Dixon will drive his first metropolitan meeting in Brisbane since September and his book is littered with winning chances.
Cool And Classy looks the strongest of those winning chances, the two-year-old filly seemingly having a mortgage on the Sunshine Stars Fillies Classic.
With six wins in seven starts during her first season on the track, her only defeat came in an eye-catching performance when fourth behind Fate Awaits in the Protostar.
Resuming in October following her Group 1 triumph in the Triad back in August, the first-up victory was a big win from gate seven and landing that same gate in last week’s preview of this Final, she was again clinical in victory.
If she is to face any competition, the two main dangers appear to be her stablemate, Ruby Rules, and the Ron Sallis-trained Seaside Glory.
Ruby Rules has drawn favourably in gate one and has recorded a pair of impressive victories in her four career starts, while Seaside Glory has been stung with the outside of the front line.
CAN TORO LOCO MONSTER HIS RIVALS?
Powering home to secure victory in the preview for this week’s Final, Toro Loco will start from the same barrier and be looking to repeat the performance.
Resuming from a spell in the preview, Nathan Dawson drove the gelding where he was able to slide into the one-by-one trail and saved for one run, finished over the top for a narrow victory.
With improvement from the outing and further experience and confidence from the win, trainer Ben Battle has a live chance at securing the biggest win of his career.
The Amanda Turnbull-trained and driven Stay Foolish will appreciate moving to the front line after starting from outside the second row in the preview.
Hitting the line in good order to finish fourth, the gelding was under four metres from the winner at his first look at Albion Park.
My Ultimate Felix was the big winner from the barrier draw, landing gate one and will strip fitter following his third in the preview when returning from a spell.
DAN CAN BUST MAIDEN RANKS IN STYLE
The $25,000 Sunshine Stars Trotters Classic for colts and geldings will feature just five runners.
Placed in two of five career starts, the Tim Gillespie-trained Buster Dan finds the opportunity to claim a maiden breaking win and do so with feature race glory.
Buster Dan has shown great manners in most of his races, while the manners of his rivals have been questionable to date.
Not asked for much in a recent trial where he again was safe throughout, the son of Southwind Frank can overcome the wide lane, with the main danger drawn next to him - the Grant Dixon-trained Lain.
MONTEREY CHASING THIRD FEATURE
Already the winner of two features in her first racing season, Monterey Lass looks set to add a third to an expanding curriculum vitae.
With victories in the Triad and Springboard, the Shane Graham-trained and reined filly has prepared with an impressive trial hit out.
Yet to miss the money in all six career starts, the half-sister to Agent Black will almost certainly ensure her name is engraved on the Juvenile Trotter of the Year trophy with a victory on Saturday.
Down South Daisy for Tayla Gillespie is the obvious threat, the filly an impressive winner on debut back in September.
Making an early error, she was able to reset and go on to claim an expanding winning margin and was a close second in the same trail as Monterey Lass in preparation for this feature.
CAPTAIN CAN PULL RANK ON TROOPER
Captain Shuffles can call on a fitness edge and improved gate to get back to winning form when he tackles the first leg of the quadrella.
First-up from a spell, the five-year-old was game in defeat when working hard in the run and fighting gamely for second place behind Mr Mclaren.
A slick 1.51.8 mile was recorded in that contest which should tighten him for this assignment.
Tims A Trooper has not raced since February when finishing down the line behind Triple Eight in the Pure Steel at Melton.
Defeating Captain Shuffles in a trial to prepare for a long-awaited return, he draws outside for this contest and where he positions in the early stages looks the key to his winning hopes.
