Harness racing returns to Laidlaw Park on Thursday afternoon with a seven-event program set for the Stawell HRC's traditional Anzac Day meeting.
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District stables are well represented in all races with Armstrong trainer Leroy O'Brien saddling up five runners.
Smart trotter Sir Eros will line up from the 50m backmark in the first on the card together with a new addition to the O'Brien yard, 8yo gelding Claudy An Gus which returns to Victoria after a stint in Queensland.
Last start Ararat winner Rockin Gemma should be hard to beat in the second, drawn ideally in gate two with ace reinsman Jason Lee taking the drive for Team O'Brien.
Shes A Tiny Dancer has been placed in both outings this season and the pole position ensures a soft trip over the 2180m journey in the sixth but a maiden pacer taking on horses that have won up nine races is a difficult assignment.
Online Model hasn't been seen at the races since her Swan Hill victory in December and may need an ounce of luck from an awkward draw.
Stawell trainer/driver Jason Ainsworth has his team racing in fine fashion over recent weeks and gears up three starters on Thursday. His best winning chance may be the evergreen 8yo gelding Flaming Lucky, drawn five in the fifth on the card.
Trainers Kerryn Manning, Michelle Wight, Marnie Bibby and Peter Manning are all in the mix to sample success.
It promises a great day out at Stawell with five lucky patron $100 draws in the Club's QR competition, all the action from the Collingwood -Essendon clash up on the big screen and live music by Dave Nicholson. Limited bistro bookings may still be available on 5358 1237.
Ararat horseman Michael Bellman enjoyed success at last week's Hamilton fixture when 7yo mare Jazspur saluted in the $7000 Club Members Of The Past Trotters Handicap.
A recent win at Charlton and minor placing at Melton saw Jazspur sent out by punters as the odds-on-favourite even with a 20m handicap to contend with. Bellman landed her in the one-out-one-back position for the first lap but they raced without cover from the bell when Glen Craven took Yankee to the lead.
It made little difference to the daughter of Pegasus Spur CA and Fleetwood Blue as she raced away over the final stages to record career victory number ten, in a rate of 2.02.7 for the Hull family of Ararat.
Horsham trainer/driver Aaron Dunn also landed a winner at Hamilton with his lightly raced, 4yo gelding Neatntidy.
First up for eight months, Neatntidy led all of the way from gate three and held off a late challenge from Elusive (Connor Clarke) which raced greenly over the final stages to score by 1.2m in a rate of 1:57.9 for the 1660m dash.
With two wins and a second from just five starts over a two year span, Neatntidy should go on and win a few more if able to string a number of runs together.
