Dashman's harness look ahead - December 12

Look ahead to this weekend's harness racing action in our weekly preview, thanks to Darren Clayton.

There will be a special Christmas gift for harness fans with Leap To Fame set to race again this Saturday night.

Albion Park will host its annual Christmas Cup meeting, with Cups for pacers and trotters that will be complemented by the Members Cup on the nine-race card.

Marburg will also host a meeting on Sunday. 

GET ON

Albion Park on Saturday in race one.

Call To Order has now had three runs back from a spell following his performance in The Eureka. 

Looming strongly last week, he looks to have found suitable conditions this time.

LTF THE GRINCH

After a mammoth effort to get within an eyelash of a second Blacks A Fake trophy, combined with a busy travel schedule that has seen him race in Victoria and New Zealand in the past six weeks, the appearance of Leap To Fame in this week’s acceptances has come as a surprise.

Several local connections were banking on the Hall of Fame pacer bypassing this week’s Christmas Cup at Albion Park.

And, tongue-in-cheek, one trainer even suggested that “Larry is the Grinch that stole Christmas.”

While it may make the race harder for those lining up, harness racing fans have received an added present for the year, seeing the champion chase down further success with a victory to take his record to 41 wins at Albion Park. 

Two early scratching’s have left just four opponents for the Grant Dixon-trained superstar, with Speak The Truth and Tims A Trooper backing up from the Blacks A Fake.

Scoring a strong victory in the Blacks A Fake Consolation, Captain Hammerhead will be forced to start from the widest gate if he is to cause the upset and claim back-to-back wins.

CHRISTMAS SUNSET

Unable to join Pink Galahs and Gus as the only trotters to sweep both heat rounds and the Final of the Darrell Alexander Trotting Championship, Golden Sunset will look to bounce back.

Tackling the Trotters Christmas Cup on Saturday night, the Shawn Grimsey-trained mare made an early error which proved costly in the DJA Final.

Golden Sunset settled at the rear and was unable to get into the contest.

With a small field of just six to do battle, the eight-year-old mare should be able to settle much closer to the action and be poised to strike.

Taylad To Use became the DJA champion after stepping away perfectly, controlling the tempo and fighting off the challengers for an all-the-way victory.

With the mobile start still yet to be perfected by the six-year-old, his chances in last week’s Group 3 trotting feature expired soon after the start.

However, a return to standing start conditions, and most importantly the front tape, are a big plus for Taylad To Use.

Berriesandcherries will likely start as one of the outsiders in the small field, yet the Brendan Barnes-trained and reined mare should find herself in a great position.

At her best when saved for one closing shot at her opponents, she was the eye-catching run from the DJA Final, charging home in the latter stages to finish in third.

The small field suits perfectly and positioned close to the action when they turn for home, Berriesandcherries will be ready to issue a challenge.

The enigmatic Hide And Seek was not at his best for the DJA but has the ability when right to take this.

Zealous Spur will be chasing a 19^th Albion Park victory.

MEMBERS CUP AN OPEN CONTEST

The Members Cup is always a keenly contested event and the 2025 edition appears no different with the race boasting several winning chances.

The strongest form reference over the past month in Queensland has been any link to Fernco Nel, which makes two runners in the Members Cup stand out.

Braventreacherous ran second to the impressive three-year-old four starts back.

Trained by Wayne Graham, the recent form of Braventreacherous has been on an upward trajectory.

Braventreacherous won at his next start following the referenced second placing, where he beat Demon Blue home.

Set to run from barrier five, the query will be the 2138 metre journey.

All five wins recorded by Braventreacherous have been at the mile.

Meanwhile, Demon Blue will start from barrier three with Trista Dixon taking the reins.

Demon Blue will be making his fourth appearance since resuming from a spell following a winless Queensland Constellations campaign where he contested four feature races, culminating in the Queensland Derby.

A winner of two races at the track, including at the 2138 metre journey, Demon Blue finished near the rear last week after stalling when trying to make a three-wide move.

The winner of that race was Fernco Nel.

The Dixon stable will have four representatives, with Gem Punter Pete, Risk Taker and Betterthan Popsy also lining up.

Luvbite will line-up in his third successive Members Cup.

The six-year-old to start from inside the second line for trainer Graham Dwyer and will be partnered by Matt Elkins with regular driver Layne Dwyer facing a stint on the sidelines.