From last to first pacer turns heads at Menangle

There were strong performances in the heats of harness racing’s Club Menangle Winter Championship last Saturday (Jul. 23) but it was the Bathurst-trained pacer Holy Camp Dillon (For A Reason) that caught the eye of most.

With his last to first performance, Holy Camp Dillon stormed home in a slick last half of 57.5 to secure a narrow win over Ultimate Force.

It was Holy Camp Dillion’s first attempt at circumnavigating the 1400 metre Tabcorp Park Menangle circuit which added merit to the victory, leaving trainer-driver Anthony Frisby excited over the gelding’s future prospects.

“He has always shown an abundant amount of talent,” Frisby explained.

“The horse has only been here for a month and has impressed me immensely since coming from Robert and Clive Anderson’s stable at Grenfell.”

Before joining Frisby’s team, the five-year-old had scored back-to-back wins for the Andersons, giving Frisby an ideal base to build on for a crack at metropolitan racing.

“Between me and my Dad Chris we have enjoyed good success training horses for the Andersons,” said Frisby.

“They have well-bred stock that have great manners and are always fit to race when we get them.

“Going into last Saturday night’s race I knew we had the form to be right in the race, however I was a little bit concerned over the fact that he had not yet seen the track.

“But he is a genuine racehorse that can adapt to any condition and that has made my job a lot easier.

“I guess the most impressive facet for me was the way he let down late. When we went past the cages leaving the back, he was giving the leader at least twenty metres start so I thought at best we might be able to snare a minor placing. But he really attacked the line savagely.”

Frisby is just a stone’s throw away from the Gold Crown Paceway at Bathurst where on Wednesday night (Jul. 27) he has three drives and on paper it appears that he some solid chances.

Anthony’s best winning chance comes up in race seven when he will combine with the Ben Settree-trained filly Our Redemption (Huntsville).

She was last seen when finishing second in a consolation of the Gold Tiara in March but won a recent trial at Bathurst by a big margin.

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by Michael Dumesny, for HRNSW