Troy eyes off the Mayors Cup after a testing six months

Trainer Troy Williams.

Penrith Harness Racing Club is playing host to its city Council on Thursday night with the final of the Penrith Mayors Cup being the feature.

The race was inaugurated some years ago with Parkes being the closest harness racing centre to Penrith’s sister city Condobolin.

The Parkes Club conducted a strong qualifying heat a fortnight ago which was followed by a further two heats at Penrith last Thursday night, leaving punters with the unenviable task of weighing up the country and provincial form of those pacers that made their way through to the final.

The Troy Williams stable holds a strong hand in the Cup with two leading chances that have drawn well.

 It has been a tough six months for Troy whose South Windsor property has been engulfed by flooding on numerous occasions.

But to his credit, Williams has soldiered on with his training operation, managing to keep his horses fit and racing through alternate training arrangements.

“It has not been the easiest six months,” said Williams. 

“We have had to improvise on many occasions throughout the year but thankfully we have beaten the odds and the horses have continued to perform well.

“I have had a lot of people help us overcome our predicament along the way, too many to mention but they know who they are, and I cannot thank them enough.”

Williams is quietly confident that both his runners will perform well in the Cup.

Shadow Eclipse and Manly Mach returned to their best form last week and after drawing barriers three and five respectively, they have fared better than their main rivals.

“I was really impressed with both my horses’ efforts in their respective heats last week,” he said.

“Shadow Eclipse had to use plenty of gas out of the gate to find the pegs and was strong in the run home, racing clear to score by a widening nineteen metres.

“In contrast Manly Mach had to make a wide run from the tail of the field in the last lap and he kept grinding away to run second.”

“Looking at the speed map I think both horses will go forward at the start to find a forward position.

“One luxury I do enjoy is having the services of some of the best drivers in Sydney and tonight is no exception with Robbie Morris and Josh Gallagher in the sulky.”