Veteran pacer Our Major Jack has lived in the shadow of his elder half-brother Jacks Legend throughout his career, and he was the rank outsider when he lined up to contest the 2130m Book Into Steelo’s Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Few punters gave the eight-year-old any hope, and he was a $73.30 chance ($81 on the fixed market), despite being driven by star reinsman Aiden De Campo for his owner and hobby trainer Eugene Harris.
Our Major Jack’s 30 starts for Harris had resulted in only four placings whereas Jacks Legend was a millionaire star who had amassed $1,214,542 from 45 wins and 66 placings from 194 starts which included his group 1 success over Ultimate Machete in the Emerald for three-year-olds at Ashburton in June 2017 and his second to the mighty Lazarus in the New Zealand Cup at Addington in November 2017.
Our Major Jack’s only New Zealand appearance was when he finished eleventh in a race for two-year-olds at Addington in September 2020 before coming to Australia where he won once from four Victorian starts and then raced 55 times in South Australia for ten wins and 23 placings.
It was back in May 2024 that Our Major Jack’s connections telephoned veteran WA trainer-reinsman Lindsay Harper and offered to sell the Art Major gelding.
“Lindsay didn’t want him, and he suggested I should buy him,” said Harris. “So, I had a look at him racing in the replays on the internet and saw that he had a funny action. Lindsay told me that he had spoken to Our Major Jack’s drivers who said, ‘that’s just him.’
“I then bought him for $5000, and he was unplaced at his first seven starts before it was discovered that he had a hairline fracture in his off fore pastern.”
Our Major Jack recuperated in a paddock where he enjoyed the company of American Rock, and after a ten-month absence he resumed racing late last August and he has been in action week in and week out since then and went into Friday night’s event with 23 starts in his current campaign for three placings --- at Bunbury, Pinjarra and Gloucester Park.
“He has had no issues with his leg, but he has struggled to get around the bends,” explained the 58-year-old Harris, who retired twelve months ago after running a business making and repairing hydraulic cylinders.
Three nights before Friday’s race Our Major Jack, driven by Harris, drew out wide and raced at the rear before finishing ninth and last behind Como El Viento at Gloucester Park.
“He has more ability than any horse I have ever worked but his inability to get around the bends tells against him,” said Harris who still enjoys driving his pacers at country-class meetings with his B class licence. He has been involved in harness racing for 30 years and has driven 34 winners.
With Our Major Jack’s inability to handle the bends when taken out wide, De Campo made sure that the gelding would have his best chance by racing on the pegs, and he angled him across from the No. 4 barrier to race in seventh position, four back on the pegs, while Maddy Lou ($8.50) was setting the pace with Middlepage ($4.60) in the breeze.
Our Major Jack gained an ideal inside passage just after passing the 400m before De Campo eased him out, one wide, approaching the turn. The gelding then sprinted home solidly, out three wide, to get up and beat $8.50 chance Feeling Aces by a half-head, with Maddy Lou a head away in third place. The winner rated1.56.8.
