A sizeable offer has been lodged and rejected in relation to unbeaten harness racing youngster Lumineer.
Stretching his undefeated status to three at Tabcorp Park Melton last night, Lumineer was a $30,000 Melbourne Australian Pacing Gold purchase for trainer Angela McDowall.
The son of Sportswriter has been ultra-impressive, with his latest performance – a heat of the APG race series – nothing short of spectacular.
As such, McDowall was presented with a six-figure bid for the colt, which was quickly turned down.
“He is not for sale at this stage,” McDowall said. “My family owns him and we are happy to keep racing him.
“We try every year to find one that is competitive, so to have one going as well as he is, is just a dream.
“But that said, you never say never!”
Driven by Jason Lee last night, Lumineer was settled in the ‘death seat’ from the outside of the front line as Higherthananeagle led from four.
Angled down into the sprint lane at the top of the home straight, Lumineer grabbed the lead in the last stride, scoring by a head from Higherthananeagle, with Concealment 26 metres away third.
“What a great run,” McDowall said. “From a tough draw, and with the high opinion on Higherthananeagle, I wasn’t overly confident.
“I was hoping he would do enough to qualify for the next round.”
Covering the last half in 55.7 seconds, the two-year-old rated a scintillating 1:53.8 over 1720 metres, with his time four seconds faster than Stefsbest in the following heat.
Leading throughout from the pole, Stefsbest was never fully extended to account for Jimmy Locke and Justice Served in what was an emotional victory for connections.
Trained and driven by Ahmed Taiba, the son of Sportswriter is named after the multiple feature winning horseman’s nephew, who died in tragic circumstances several years ago.
“He is named after Haas’ son, who was killed tragically a couple of years ago when only 18,” Taiba said. “We’ve been waiting until we got the right horse to hold and carry his legacy and we’re confident we’ve found the right one.
“To have him win his heat so easily is a great result and hopefully he can do a top job in the rest of the series.”
Short-priced favourite Yankee Roller maintained his perfect record by annexing the final heat for record-breaking horsewoman Emma Stewart.
Driven by master reinsman Gavin Lang, the son of Rock N Roll Heaven scored from Jilliby Lorenzo and Ourbeachsomewhere in 1:58.5.
APG Media