These statistics have been mentioned before … but let’s go through the race record, once again, of The Harrovian, who tackles the Listed Bernborough Plate at Eagle Farm on Boxing Day.
Currently, The Harrovian’s record shows he has won his last ten starts in a row (and thirteen of his last fifteen). He is a winner from 1200m to 2100m. He is a winner on good, soft and heavy going. His fighting qualities are second to none. He carries weight well (the highest weight he has carried to victory is 67kg) and, if anyone thought the move from Far North Queensland to the more intense cauldron of city racing would bring him undone, he has proved them wrong in no uncertain terms having won his last three races in Brisbane, a sequence which includes victory in the Listed Recognition Stakes.
In the Bernborough, The Harrovian meets his rivals at set weights in a race in which he is set to carry 57kg, the lowest weight he has carried since a run July.
So, what, if anything, does the stable have to fear?
“We have no fears,” said co-trainer Toby Edmonds, who trains in partnership with his son Trent.
“We go to Eagle Farm on Boxing Day and he did win his first start at Eagle Farm back in October. The Eagle Farm track was super the other day (when it returned to racing after a two-month break for renovation), so I’m not concerned about the way they will present it.
“I was concerned during the Winter Carnival. I always said during that time that I thought the track was far too hard. I thought that was evident … but now, while I think we will find that Eagle Farm is never going to be the old Eagle Farm, I think they have got the right guys looking after it now so, again, the track, which might have been a concern in the past, is not a worry.
“These are always tough races … but, no, we have no fears,” said Edmonds.
A win would obviously be good for connections of The Harrovian on a number of levels, but it would also extend the period of his winning sequence, which began on July 16, 2020, by some time as The Harrovian will be given a well-deserved ‘time out’ after the Bernborough run.
‘He will go for a break after the run and then will get ready for the All-Star Mile,” confirmed Edmonds.
*This is The Harrovian’s second run for Team Edmonds. Cairns based trainer Stephen Massingham was responsible for the outstanding career of The Harrovian from March 19 until October 2020. Massingham still retains a part ownership in the highly-talented son of Fastnet Rock.
