Mitch Ford leads the 6ty° Youngbloods Challenge after the first three heats were held in Launceston on Saturday night.
Ford secured maximum points after the win of We Salute You (pictured) in Launceston.
“I made a suggestion to Ben (Yole) a few weeks ago to take the plugs out of him as he wasn’t trying when they came out, and since we took the plugs off him he has won three races,” said Ford.
“There was a genuine speed up front, and there were three or four in front of me that had the option to drop to the pegs, but I knew I had the horse in front of me that would take me to where I needed to be,” the driver explained.
Brodie Davis and Ryan Backhouse, who sit second and third on the points table, also had heat wins.
The six-race series concludes with a further three heats in Hobart on Sunday evening.
Heat four kicks off the card, where Charlie Castles will be looking to boost his points total on race favourite Velocity Stride, while Backhouse, Williams and Ford will all drive horses in the market.
Race 3 is heat five and is the most open of the three heats, with seven runners in single figures.
The series wraps up with race 5, which sees Davis take the reins on race favourite Vivid Stride, while Backhouse will partner second-elect Ultimate Me, in what should be a contested affair.
Current points score after three heats;
35 – Mitch Ford,
33 – Brodie Davis,
26 – Ryan Backhouse,
19 – Jacob Duggan,
16 – Kayleb Williams,
15 – Bronte Miller,
14 – Charlie Castles,
13 – Lachlan Dakin and Malcom Jones,
11 – Liam Older.
The series winner will be presented with their trophy at the Launceston Pacing Club meeting on 18 December.
The feature race on the Hobart card is race 2, the Rhymes St Cafe Eastlands Pace (formerly known as the Three Year Old Fillies Championship).
The Christian Salter-trained Iden Boutique is the short-price favourite from Mays Place and I Of The Hurricane in the $14,000 event.
The trio filled three of the top four positions in the recent Group 2 Bandbox, where Iden Boutique sat parked and was too tough for her rivals late.
The Hobart card kicks off at 18:05.
