LEETON driver Adam Richardson produced a fine steer to guide Tom Kat to a strong win at Friday's Wagga harness meeting.
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After settling just off a hot speed in the Harness Trading Ring Australia Pace (1740m), Richardson let the $3.70 second favourite dash swiftly to the lead from the 600m mark, before sustaining the run to win by nearly 20 metres from favourite Sports Bounty ($2.20).
While Richardson had to produce the Brooke McPherson-trained runner a little earlier than planned, he was impressed by the class the six-year-old showed down the stretch.
"The connections were quite confident he would run a good race, and had quite a good 600 in him," Richardson said.
"It was always the plan to get off the fence early and let him stride from the six. It changed a little bit when they were up three wide, I had to go four wide probably a little earlier than I wanted to but he was just too good for them."
Meanwhile, Escape Artist ($1.50 fav) lived up to his name to win the Harness Racing NSW Two-Year-Old Pace (1740m), despite doing plenty wrong.
The three-year-old broke at the start for the second straight race, and galloped with just over a lap remaining, but still held on for a gritty 1.6 metre win over $100 bolter Swedish Meatballs.
Escape Artist also broke when finishing fifth at Young on September 14, with Goulburn trainer-driver Brad Hewitt previously admitting running him on the tight track was a mistake.
Despite his continued behavioural issues, Escape Artist proved he has a ton of ability by holding on, despite also doing most of the work in the run.
It was the first win of a race-to-race double for Hewitt, who also guided short-priced Kiwi newcomer Triple Four ($1.14) to an easy win in the Steel Supplies Three-Year-Old Pace (1740m).
"He's a bit of a headache. He does everything right at home and I suppose it's nerves getting the better of him," Hewitt said.
"He needs more runs and trips away as he's still a bit immature and silly, but hopefully he can get it together in the next couple of weeks."
Driver Amy Day also had a strong day with a race-to-race double with Dance Away ($1.95) in the Sky Racing Active Pace (2270m) and The Stain ($2.15) in the Club Menangle Supporting Regional Racing Pace (1740m).
