No Rest for The TAB Eureka Winners

Amore Vita NZ. Photo by Stuart McCormick.

DOMINANT training duo Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin didn’t have much time to celebrate winning the world’s richest harness race, the $2.1mil TAB Eureka last Saturday night with their star mare Encipher.

It was a case of a few drinks on the night at Menangle before getting back home to their staple diet, pillaging the rich Vicbred series in their own backyard.

Encipher’s path towards her TAB Eureka win included finishing second in the Group 1 Vicbred 2YO final in 2021 and then returning a year later to win the 3YO final.

In a disappointing quirk of this year’s calendar, contesting the TAB Eureka meant she couldn’t chase back-to-back Vicbred final wins in the 4YO series. That’s because the heats effectively clashed with the TAB Eureka.

But Stewart and Tonkin still look set for a sixth successive year of stunning Vicbred dominance, judging by the fact they have 36 runners – yes, 36 across the 12 Vicbred pacing semi-finals at Melton on Saturday night. That’s a quarter of the 144 starters from just the one stable.

Their Vicbred dominance really started in 2018 when they won five of the six pacing finals and repeated the dose the next year with another five finals.

Since then, Stewart and Tonkin have won three finals in 2020, 2021 and last year.

Judging by the talent they have on show in Saturday night’s pacing semis, it will be a shock if they don’t win at least three finals again on Saturday week.

“Our stable is predominantly Vicbred horses, so naturally, we have a strong focus on the series,” Stewart said. “We’ve had some good results through the heats so far, and there’s plenty to look forward to in the semis.

“It’s such a big and busy time for us, including the logistics of getting the horses two and from the track.”

Stewart and Tonkins’ strongest hand is in the 4YO mares’ series, where they have a remarkable 10 of the 24 semi-finalists. They also have 9 of 24 in the 2YO colts and geldings series and 8 of the 24 3YO colts and geldings.

They start Saturday night strongly with 5 of the 13 entrants in the first semi-final of the 3YO colts and geldings’ series: Techys Watching (gate two), Perfect Class (three), Gawn (four, emergency), Staroftheshow (six) and Our Vinnie (nine).

For many, the highlight of the night will be the clash of Stewart and Tonkins’ two buzz two-year-old “boys” Stormryder (gate two) and Bay Of Biscay (10) in the first semi of their division.

Both looked terrific winning their heats, ooze potential and are two of the six runners from just 12 starters the stable has in the race.

The other highlight of the night will be the clash of some of Australia’s best mares, most trained by Stewart and Tonkin, in the first semi of the 4YO mares’ series.

Of their five starters, Petillante (gate two), Major Grace (three), Amore Vita (five) and Soho Historia (seven) are the biggest guns. All would rank in the top 10 mares in the land at their top.

While the Vicbred semis are playing out, some of the biggest names in the Stewart and Tonkin stable will be sitting at home waiting for their next targets, including Encipher, champion mare Ladies In Red, Hunter Cup winner Honolua Bay and Inter Dominion placegetter Act Now.

“Ladies In Red and Honolua Bay are ready to trial, so not far away from the races,” Stewart said. “We need to decide whether we go for the Victoria Cup or mares’ races with Encipher.”

· Adam Hamilton is a paid contributor writing on harness racing for News Corp.