Mark will just be an on course spectator in search of his seventh Inter Dominion Trotting Crown at Albion Park on Saturday but he may not have had his last big race drive behind the remarkable veteran.
When he decided to attack another Inter Dom series he considered it a possible final victory would be a great note for Oscar Bonavena to go out on. But Oscar is saying his time has not yet come.
” My thinking was then that if he got more than 20 mares then a stud career was a good option. But now if he is still fit and keen to race the way he is at the moment it makes more sense to extend his race career.”
Mark is hopeful rather than confident that this resilient star -he is in his 8th racing season-can pull off the final but he knows he is in with a chance.
“He is nine-almost 10- and has had a long career with quite a few problems along the way. It is a big ask to win it but the times he ran last week suggests with the best run it could happen”
Even if he won the Final he wouldn’t rate as the most consistent of the Purdon ID stars when horses like I Can Doosit (two) Pride of Petite (two) and Buster Hanover are concerned-largely bullet proof trotters in peak form. Mark was also the man behind Diamond Field,a horse he admired greatly,though it was not a public credit as a trainer. The most recent winner,Winterfell,had his moments though lacked Oscar’s innate brilliance. But along with that brilliance comes some brittleness.
“More than most of my top trotters he can just suddenly do something wrong. Usually there is no warning. You don’t know its coming. Something sets him off and there is really nothing you can do about it”
After winning $1.1m that is something you have to live with but it also makes it a lot easier to live with.
Like Nathan ,Mark is not expecting early pace from Oscar even if he is drawn to run out behind 2nd favourite Bet n Win.
Bob Butt has suggested he will seek the early lead with the latter from gate 5 but Mark doesn’t think that will be easy.
“I would have thought Arcee Phoenix would want to hold the front from its gate. He has been going well,stays well,and he is probably the one to beat” -an opinion Nathan shares.
“Nathan has been happy with Oscar this week.He had a tough race last week.He has backed up well from tough races before, though not always. That is something you don’t really know until the pressure of a big race goes on”
“We will be looking for him to relax early on and find his feet. Then if he runs times like last week he is in with his chance.”
It is a tribute to his handlers that Oscar Bonavena is still a contender at top level after so many problems over so many years and in fact he is probably as well as he has ever been.
The same sort of race spark on Saturday and it could be ID Trotting number 8 -and a reprieve from retirement for the indomitable Oscar.