IT will be on for young and old when the green light flashes in the Group 3 3SH Swan Hill Pacing Cup on Friday night – with hopes of a local victory resting with the familiar red, white and black colours.
Owned and bred by local Noel Watson, Torrid Saint will go around as one of the favourites in the prestigious race – which, for the first time since 2019, will be run in front of a packed crowd.
Watson, who was in for a busy night as Swan Hill Trotting Club president as well, will be hoping Torrid Saint can follow in the footsteps of his half-brother and hand the popular local his second Swan Hill Pacing Cup.
It would be Watson’s second win in his home cup, with Torrid Saint’s half-brother Saint Flash having claimed the very first Cup run on the new track after relocating from the Nyah Trotting Track in 2012.
While Torrid Saint will be the popular pick among the locals – the six-year-old gelding will have it far from his own way, with a small but talented field set to challenge for the $35,000 prize.
Among the challengers will the Emma Stewart trained pair of Our Millionaire and Like A Wildfire, with both horses to start from outside the front row.
Our Millionaire will go into the race as favourite in his third start back from a spell, having won the Horsham, Stawell and St Arnaud pacing cups and finishing second in the Mildura Pacing Cup over the past 12 months.
Like A Wildfire will also pose a significant threat, having recently competed in Group 1 company in the Victoria Cup (alongside Torrid Saint) and the TAB Blacks A Fake Championship at Albion Park.
Blitzern, who was a last start winner at Swan Hill, and Kosimo were also not without their chances.
But while Watson knew he and his beloved gelding have their work cut out for them, he was also hoping – and expecting – a strong showing.
“Our expectations and our hopes are two different things, but at the same time we’re confident that he’ll run a good race,” Watson said.
“The expectation is that he’ll have to sit at the back of the field and make a last 600 metre dash at them and I’d expect that that’s the way the race will be run – I think a couple of the front row horses won’t want to get involved in anything early and will be pretty keen to hand up the lead which may make things a bit more difficult.
“I don’t expect there’ll be any bold moves because it’s a long-distance race, but I would suggest the last half to quarter of the race in distance could be electric, because there’s some withering speed with a couple of these horses and he’s (Torrid Saint) one of them.”
If Torrid Saint was to get the job done on Friday night, in Watson’s eyes it would be richly deserved for one of his most talented ever – and now highest earning – pacers he’s owned.
But despite having run in some of Australia’s most prestigious harness races – including the Victoria Cup and Ballarat Cup – there was still one thing missing from his CV that will hopefully be rectified at 9.30pm.
“He’s gone very close and he’s won at Melton a few times – but for mine, the Swan Hill Cup has a lot of prestige about it and it’s one that we all grew up with and for him to win it would be fantastic,” Watson said.
“He’s starting to mature now – he’s always had speed and always gone quick, but now he’s getting a bit of stamina into him and a bit of race knowledge.”
As Swan Hill Trotting Club president, Watson’s main role on Friday night will be to make sure the biggest night on the club’s calendar goes off without a hitch – with many events planned for children and adults alike to enjoy. One of the big initiatives the club has implemented was a Halloween Party, with trick or treating for the children as well as prizes for the best costumes.
There will also be jumping castles, laser tag, lawn games, face painting, blow up horse racing among many other activities, with free entry for children.
There will be plenty for the adults, with on-course TAB facilities available, along with both upstairs and downstairs bars and food trucks on site – with the club also running a fundraiser for the Safe Shelter for Domestic Violence organisation.
With so much to do and enjoy for families of all ages, Watson was hoping to see a big crowd in attendance to celebrate the momentous occasion.
“We’re certainly looking forward to it – it’s the first cup for a couple of years where we’ve actually had crowds on course due to COVID,” Watson said.
“The weather should hopefully hold together and we’ll get a nice evening for it as well and let’s face it, it’s the perfect way to kick off an extended long weekend for those who may be wanting to have Monday off to go with cup day next week – not to mention it’s great for the kids who may want to stay up a bit later and enjoy the trick or treating with no school the next day.”
