REIGNING Inter Dominion winning trainer Jason Grimson plans to step-up his title defence in the second round of qualifying heats at Shepparton tonight.
Grimson didn’t win a heat of last year’s Sydney series, but snared the final, albeit on protest, with longshot Boncel Benjamin.
The Menangle trainer is confident I Cast No Shadow can deliver him his first Inter Dominion heat at Shepparton.
“I think he’ll hold them out (from barrier one) and lead and then we might just cut him loose and see if they can run us down,” he said.
“This series will be the making of I Cast No Shadow, just like it was Majestic Cruiser last year.
“I said going into it that I Cast Now Shadow would show people how good he is and he gets his chance at Shepparton from that draw.”
I Cast No Shadow, winner of the Group 1 Len Smith Mile two starts back, opened the Inter Dominion with a fighting fourth to Better Eclipse after making a midrace move and sitting outside the leader at Ballarat.
“They were walking so Cam (Hart, driver) had to put him in the race and he stuck on well,” Grimson said. “Both my horses hadn’t done much in the couple of weeks before the series, so they’ll just keep improving as they get through it.”
The clash between I Cast No Shadow, first night star Expensive Ego (gate five), Mach Dan (three) and Act Now (11) promises to be the highlight of Shepparton.
Grimson was delighted with Majestic Cruiser’s opening night third to Honolua Bay.
“He really needed the run,” he said. “He had those two hard runs in NZ and basically did nothing for the next week or after it. I only gave him one solid piece of work before the first heat.
“They sat-up and dashed home, which isn’t really his go anyway.
“It’s all about having him primed for the final, the heats are the stepping-stones.
“Having him spot-on for the final, which is right down his alley at 2760m, is what I’m focused on.”
Champion training duo Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin won two of the three pacing heats on night one, but it’s one of their beaten brigade, Beyond Delight, who looks their best hope at Shepparton.
The four-year-old ran the fastest last 400m of the night when he stormed home from near last to finish a close fourth to stablemate Honolua Bay at Ballarat and has the draw to lead from gate four over the suitably short 1690m this time.
Kiwi superstar Bolt For Brilliance headlines three odds-on favourites in the three trotting heats at Shepparton. The others are opening heat winner Just Believe and glamour mare Queen Elida.
- Adam Hamilton is a paid contributor writing on harness racing for News Corp.
