Some of the bits and pieces that caught Tim O'Connor's eye in the world of harness racing...

THE HERO...

IKARA

Was great to see one of the Ainsworth family’s favourite horses return from a mammoth stint away from the races with victory on Wednesday night at Bendigo.

Ikara had not raced since March 3, 2022 due to a serious hamstring tendon injury, but rewarded his connections’ faith with a dominant first-up victory in the Aldebaran Park Trot.

Trainer Barry Ainsworth was “over the moon” after teaming up with son Ashley, who steered the eight-year-old gelding to his second career victory at start 26.

HOW GOOD WAS…

CRAIG’S CLAP

Loved Craig Hoban’s little celebration behind Give Fred A Clap on Sunday at Cranbourne.

Hoban had a bit of fun with his horse’s interesting name and gave a little clap just before crossing the line to claim the Blue Hills Rise Maiden Pace.

Give Fred A Clap is out of Hoban’s mare Dancingwithsierra, who also produced stablemate Give Dave A Wave.

Watch the replay of race seven here.

KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR…

ID HEATS

While there’s a great nine-race card at Melton Entertainment Park this Saturday night, most harness racing fans will have one eye on the time-honoured Inter Dominion series at Albion Park.

The first of two qualifying rounds gets underway on Saturday, with three heats for the pacers rolling into two for the trotters.

After that will be the $300,000 Group 1 Rising Sun for the three and four-year-old pacers on what is a stacked card in Queensland.

FROM THE RACING OFFICE...

An interesting event for connections to consider on July 26 at Melton is the NMW (Last 6 Months) Pace.

The race is restricted to horses assessed no faster than NR80 who have not won any race with advertised stakemoney of $15,000 or more in the last six months.

Essentially, the race has been designed to give horses who won a “metro” event some time ago another chance at the NMW circuit given significant time has elapsed since their success. This might provide a more competitive option away from standard rating races.

Click here for more information.

While only one NMW (Last 6 Months) Pace is programmed at this stage, more are expected to be added to the meeting calendar through August.

ONE FOR THE BLACK BOOK...

MAGIC MIKE

I didn’t find a spot for this bloke in my Eye-Catchers show this week, but the body of recent work makes Magic Mike a horse to follow in his coming starts.

He is running this Saturday night at Melton, and while I think it will be a tough assignment, I’ve liked his past few runs and fancy he can score a long-awaited victory in a suitable race soon.

SOMETHING TO PONDER...

An interesting promotion caught my eye this week, and it could see your horse find a spot in the world’s richest harness race, The Eureka.

The “Pitch Your Horse” concept asks owners of homegrown three and four-year-old pacers to submit a short one-minute video outlining why one of the 10 slot holders should consider selecting their pride and joy for the September 6 feature at Menangle.

Importantly, the competition guidelines state: Nominating the horse in this promotion does not guarantee selection or entry into The Eureka. It is a submission that may be considered by slot holders when making their selections.

So, while it’s largely a marketing tool, the fun and quirky idea should create some enjoyable content ahead of the third staging of the race later this year.

Fancy giving it a shot? Find all the details here.

Chances are you’re about to lose. For free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.

The opinions expressed in The Forum are those of the author and may not be attributed to or represent policies of Harness Racing Victoria, which is the state authority and owner of thetrots.com.au.