There could be nothing worse than having your vision impaired when driving a pacer at a harness racing meeting which is what Tasmanian drivers had to deal with at the meeting in Devonport on Tasmania's North-West Coast on Sunday night.
Constant rain throughout the day had turned the Devonport Showground circuit into a bog by race five on the 11-event card and all drivers were hoping to find the front.
However the rain eased and while the track was extremely rain-affected, stewards deemed it safe for racing.
Needless to say many of the winners led throughout on what was one of the wettest days in the region this year.
Mark Yole steered Jane Grant to an all-the-way win in the $10,000 Sheffield Cup after which he declared it would be almost impossible for anything to win coming from behind.
"They won't be making any ground here tonight,' Yole said after winning the Sheffield Cup.
Even though Jane Grant led throughout, Yole still had to lift his mud-splattered visor during the race to see where he was going.
As Yole where's spectacles when he drives he had the other problem of having his glasses speckled with grit from the track that further impaired his vision.
However, it made no difference to the outcome as Jane Grant set a solid clip in front and was never seriously challenged on her way to a comfortable win over Red Sun Bliss and Lord Jones.
Peter Staples