Ultimate test for Ronnie as he prepares for the Eureka

25 August 2023

HE is shaping as one of the best pacers in this state.

Yet promising four-year-old My Ultimate Ronnie will have his work cut out to win and probably won’t even start favourite for Saturday night’s $30,600 Kevin Newman Free-For-All at Tabcorp Park Menangle.

That honour will go to the Belinda McCarthy-trained Spirit Of St Louis, who hasn’t raced for a month since returning from a hit-and-run trip to the Queensland Winter Carnival.

My Ultimate Ronnie is heading for the richest race in the harness racing world, next week’s $2.1m TAB Eureka and his trainer Jarrod Alchin wants to give his stable star one more serious hit-out before the big race on September 2.

Both Alchin and his stable reinsman Cameron Hart could not be happier with where ‘Ronnie’ is at the moment.

“We’re super happy with him,” Hart told National Trotguide’s Mike Ko’cass.

“He was a little below his best when he raced in Queensland, even though he did finish third in the Rising Sun.

“Since then Jarrod has been happy with how he trialled and he’s really gone to another level since he’s been home.

“Spirit of St Louis is already one of the best horses in the country and he has the draw advantage over us, so he will be hard to catch.

“But I still expect our bloke to be competitive.

“He gets a bit lost when he’s out in front so I kept his mind on the job in last week’s trial as I wanted to make sure he went though the line well.

“Ronnie is a versatile horse and if he can draw a middle barrier in the Eureka, he has the gate speed to make the most of that.

“Obviously, you want a nice soft trip and hope you can get over the top of horses like Leap To Fame and Catch A Wave.

“We’ll just need some luck.”

Alchin was thrilled to accept a slot in the Eureka with My Ultimate Ronnie and explained that he mapped out a plan after Qld and this race fitted in perfectly to tighten him up for the big one the following week.

“I think a lot of people have under-estimated his speed . . . he’s very fast and reeled off a super quick half here one night coming off the speed,” said Alchin.

“I’ll leave the instructions on how to drive him entirely up to Cam.”