Pachacuti continued the winning run of Tasmanian bred pacers in the James Rattray stable when he led all the way at Menangle in the $31,800 final of the TAB.Com.au Pace. This was a Group 3 race for M1/2 pacers. Pachacuti won his heat the previous week coming from the one out, one-wide position but taken to the lead in the final he had to pull out all stops to score by a head. The mile was covered in 1:51.8 (last half 54.3), but I have always thought Pachacuti would develop into more of a stayer than a mile horse, even though he has broken 1:52 at his last two starts. Another Tasmanian owned pacer in Something Eyre NZ followed Pachacuti all the way and battled on well for fourth.
The first rankings for the forthcoming Inter Dominion in Perth have been released. As expected Beautide heads the rankings ahead of the New Zealand champion Christen Me. The four other Tasmanian pacers in James Rattray’s stables are headed by Modern Ruler number 26, Devendra (still in Tasmania) 34, then Blue Pointer on 67 and Pachacuti well down on 83. I think he will be upgraded after Friday’s win.
With five Tasmanian bred pacers nominated for the Series, this is well up on recent years. The 2006 Series in Hobart did not have one Tasmanian bred runner. You have to go back to the 1940 Series in Perth to find the biggest number of Tasbreds in a Series conducted outside Tasmania. That Series had seven, Globe Dorell, Logan Derby, Icevus, Our Globe, Flying Globe, Evicus (all by Globe Derby) and Earl Pronto. Nearly a quarter of starters in the Series were Tasbred.
By Peter Cooley