The excitement is building at the Maitland Showground as the Maitland Harness Racing Club gears up for the time-honoured Inter City Pace.
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Fields for Saturday night’s heats will be finalised on Tuesday and even group 1 class trainers such as Louth Park’s Darren Elder are looking on with more than a passing interest towards the final on December 30.
Elder’s team, which includes his son Brad and daughter Melanie, do not have a runner this year but are huge fans of the Maitland’s most famous harness race.
“We don’t have any horses in the class at the moment, but it’s a race every Hunter trainer wants to win,” Elder said.
Elder’s star runner Inter Dominion finalist Shannonsablast is among a long list of horses which have launched stellar careers from the Inter City.
“Blaster finished fifth but it wasn’t long after running it that his career took off,” Elder said of his star’s 2014 appearance.
Maitland Harness Racing Club secretary Wayne Smith said the Inter City Pace was one of the biggest events on the Maitland sporting calendar and this year marked the 55th running.
Smith said nominations for the race close on Tuesday morning and they were hopeful of running five heats on Saturday night to select the field for the final on December 30.
“Five heats is ideal as it means everyone knows what they need to do to qualify. Finish first or second in your heat and you go through,” he said. “The prize pool is $30,000 so I think there will be a fair bit of interest from Sydney and Hunter trainers.
“It’s a race that has proved a stepping stone for bigger things for a lot of runners. It’s aimed at horses at the start of their careers, but still carries a lot of prestige.
“It’s one of those races that trainers, drivers and owners really want to win.”
Sydney horse Express Stride won last year’s event giving driver Luke McCarthy a piece of Inter City Pace history becoming the first person to claim three titles in a row and an unprecedented fourth overall crown.