Fighter Command ready to fight for Beautide

A harness racing record broken by the exciting three-year-old Fighter Command (Always B Miki) propelled it into the TAB Eureka discussions.

The Jess Tubbs-trained gelding made it six wins from just nine starts when he pulled up and toyed with his rivals at a blistering pace of 1min55.6sec over 2080m in the opening race at Cranbourne last night (Sunday).

As a Tasmanian owned and bred business, Fighter Command is eligible for the $80,000 Beautide (2090m) in Hobart on August 3.

The Beautide was created by Tasracing as a vehicle to decide which horse will take Tasracing’s place in the world’s richest harness race, the $2.1 million TAB Eureka at Menangle on September 7.

Magician won the race last year and finished a superb fourth in the TAB Eureka, collecting $100,000 for his efforts.

Tubbs confirmed a trip to Tasmania was on the cards for Fighter Command, who finished fourth in the Menangle round of the NSW Derby in March and are unbeaten in two races this season.

“That’s the plan, Beautide,” she said. “The problem is the staff. We have so many people working and there are only three of us managing them.”

“But this guy is promising and the Beautide seems like a good option.”

As a three-year-old, Fighter Command will enjoy a preferential draw advantage over his two main Beautide rivals, the stylish locals De Goey and Nyack.

Nyack finished fifth to stablemate Magician in last year’s Beautide race but has raced 12 times since, winning seven and finishing second five times. He won a leg of the Raider Stakes in Launceston and the $60,000 final is this Sunday at the same track.

The clash between Nyack and De Goey, who finished third in the Beautide at three last year, will be a real highlight.

The latest Beautide markets feature favourite Fighter Command at $2.50, De Goey at $2.70 and Nyack ($3).

by Adam Hamilton for the Eureka