“If we can beat him, we will be winning the race.”
That was the comment from Shane Graham pre-race when assessing the chances of his star pacer Turn It Up when he clashed with Deus Ex two weeks ago.
The assessment proved to be inch perfect with Turn It Up charging hard down the stretch, arriving on the wire to defeat Deus Ex by a head margin.
Turn It Up has been a wonderful campaigner at The Creek, his latest victory taking his record to 57: 20-11-14 and surpassing $400,000 in stakes since arriving in Queensland.
At his best with his races spaced, Turn It Up was not at the track last week, while Deus Ex was tackling a mile contest -and was back in winning form- running a slick mile from the front where he stopped the clock in 1.51.9.
Sent to the front soon after the start, Nathan Dawson had Deus Ex in control and was able to keep them running for a strong victory.
The big difference in this week’s return clash over the same trip as their last meeting, is the smaller field and Turn It Up returning to the front line.
Arguably the fastest pacer off the arm in Queensland, if not Australia, Graham’s nine-year-old has only once been held out when drawing off the front line.
Their last clash saw neither pacer start favourite, with Manila Playboy the punters elect, however this week, it looks likely that Turn It Up will be the starting price favourite.
The field of seven will do battle in the Wolf Signs Open Pace, scheduled as Race 9, it will jump at 10.12pm.
Nine races will be decided on Saturday, with the AQWA Constructions Mares Qualifying Pace- Race 3, looking an intriguing contest.
Two mares with interstate form will be firm in the market, with Classic Mix Up stepping out for New South Wales based trainer Jarrod Alchin and Miss Exclusive joining the Shawn Grimsey stable.
Brendan Barnes will take the reins aboard Classic Mix Up, the daughter of American Ideal a smart Menangle winner when leading three starts back, stopping the clock in a career best 1.52.7 rate.
Miss Exclusive returns to Queensland after seven starts for the Dixon stable in mid-2023 where she was a two-time Redcliffe winner.
Resuming with a pair of Newcastle victories, the nine-time winning Roll With Joe mare joins the Grimsey stable chasing a hat-trick of wins.
In the opening race of the night, Glover should appreciate a return to the front line following three successive starts when drawn the second line.
Stormtide, Chamonix and Rocktagonal are all solid chances with the right position and tempo.
Following the abandonment of yesterday’s meeting, the First-Round heats of the Jim McNeil Championship have been transferred to the Saturday night fixture, making it an 11-race card.
Race 1 is now scheduled to start at 5.03pm.
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