Jayne Davies and Chris Alford will go in search of more gold this weekend at Bathurst
He will have an entire army on his side – the Collingwood Army – but Hurricane Jett has the odds stacked against him in his quest to provide Nathan Buckley with his biggest win as harness racing owner this Saturday night.
The Jayne Davies-trained colt, who is part-owned by the Magpie legend and is named after his son Jett, has to overcome an outside-back-row draw if he is to win the $100,000 Black Toyota Bathurst Gold Crown for two-year-old colts and geldings.
The son of River Khan was assigned the horror slot for the 1730-metre final when he was put out the draw, a penalty for galloping for a few strides shortly after the start in his effortless 16-metre, 2:01.2 mile rate heat win last week.
“Chris (Alford, driver) thought he looked at the gate sideways last week and got off balance a bit,” Davies said of Hurricane Jett, whose only other start produced a 10-metre walk in the park win at Geelong on March 2.
“He only galloped for a few strides and was straight back in (stride), and he did still win by 16 metres, so we were hoping they wouldn’t put him out (of the draw), but they did.
“It’s disappointing because you’d love to be off the front around Bathurst, but we just have to hope that the race is run at a genuine speed and Chris gets to put him into the race at some time.”
With Sapling Stakes winner Emjayem Grand also drawing the back row (barrier 10) and Steve Turnbull’s Runaway Red drawing wide on the front line (six), the Jack O’Shea-trained Barzona Highway could challenge for favouritism after landing barrier three.
The Artsplace colt took his record to four wins from five starts last weekend when he led all the way to win his heat by five metres in a 2:02.0 mile rate.
Davies, a fanatical Magpies fan, said having the odds stacked against them would make victory even sweeter on Saturday night if they can pull it off.
“Bucks can’t get up there because he’s got footy commitments, but he’ll definitely be listening and hoping for the best,” she said.
“I’m a mad Collingwood supporter and he was my hero, so I’d love to provide him with a big win like this.”
Davies will also have runners in Saturday night’s other $100,000 final, the Woodlands Stud Bathurst Gold Tiara for two-year-old fillies, with heat winner Royal Class and runner-up Fidelius Charm to roll from barriers four and one respectively.
“They’re not without a chance because they’ve got good draws and I think they’re going to be right up there in a good position,” she said of her fillies.
The Gold Tiara is the first of Saturday night’s $100,000 events and will be run at 8.12pm with the Gold Crown to follow at 9.15pm.
