Rising star pacer Keayang Tokyo looks set for only more harness racing success after a dominant win in the Downtowner Warragul Pacing Cup on Sunday afternoon.
Perfectly driven in the feature race by reinsman Jason Lee for his mother, trainer Margaret Lee, the south-west districts trained four-year-old stretched his winning record to six from only eight race starts, and is now unbeaten from five runs since returning from a spell.
Keayang Tokyo worked to the front in the middle stages of the race from outside the back row of the mobile barrier, and sprinted clear before the home turn for an easy win, around three seconds outside the track record.
“We think he’s pretty good, we haven’t got to the bottom of him yet,” Jason Lee told racegoers on Sunday when accepting the Pacing Cup trophy.
“What he’s done at home, and gone and done at the races, we think he’s real good.”
And he enticed pacing officials to perhaps consider the horse for a shot at the feature Eureka race, the $2.1 million pacing feature for three and four-year-old horses run in Sydney on September 7th.
Slots in the race are sold to interested parties who then are entitled to start whichever eligible horse they see fit to occupy their slot in the rich event.
“I suppose we can dream big, if anyone’s got a Eureka slot and they want to ring up, we’d happily take it!.”
“We think he can get through to open class level, and he’s got potential.”
Lee paid tribute to the Gippsland club and its efforts to promote trotting in regional Victoria.
Keayang Tokyo had been a short priced favourite and loomed as a likely winner of the first run-off of the Warragul Cup when it was unfortunately called off mid-race on April 21st.
“It’s a lovely little track, and the club have been great.”
“I know Mum was keen to come back and I’m just glad we could get it done.”
The revised Pacing Cup format this year from one stand-alone race, ended up drawing six qualifying heats, a consolation and the eventual final race on Monday.
It was a format which caught the eye of many stables which would not normally race at Warragul, including the race winners.
“I definitely think you guys (Warragul) have thought outside the square a little bit with the concept,” Jason Lee said.
“You’re going to get those horses that are coming through and you are going to get to see them early. Down the track they’ll probably still become open class horses.”
“Even today it was a spectacle, there was a bit of action early, and we didn’t get it handed to us – we had to earn it.”
Warragul Harness Racing Club Manager Des Hughes with winning driver Jason Lee and Ken Connor, representing the Lee stable after Keayang Tokyo won the Warragul Pacing Cup on Monday
In other races on Monday, Trafalgar trainer Chris Hunter won the Des Kelly Memorial Trotters event for the third time with his consistent five-year-old Sundays Shadow, driven by Scott Ewen.
Sundays Shadow has this year recorded a win and four placings from only six starts.
The Ken Miller Memorial Pace was another success to the Lee stable, with Annalise Scott (who owns the winner) steering the Marg Lee trained Batton Rouge to victory.
Local pacer Kartiare was a nice winner of the second race for trainers Gary and Debbie Quinlan, who made a welcome return to the winners list on their home track.
Next Warragul trots is on Sunday afternoon, July 21st.
