Looking forward to catching up with an old mate

NEWCASTLE Harness Racing Club tonight honours the late Bill and Glenn Tomlin with the annual staging of a memorial series at the International Paceway.

Three qualifying heats run last Friday night produced some impressive performances which will make for a keenly-contested final tonight.

Of those that qualified, none were more impressive than rejuvenated gelding Jeffcoate, who has found a new lease on life since joining the Hunter Valley stables of Steve Kilroy last September.

The six-year-old was named in honour of well-known Sydney horseman John Jeffcoate following his untimely passing and was formerly trained by the father and daughter combination of Glenn McElhinney and Tiarn Sutton, who were lifelong friends of John.

The pair sent the pacer north for more suitable racing and continues to carry the racing silks of the late Mr Jeffcoate.

With his regular driver Grace Panella currently on the sidelines, Glenn McElhinney will re-unite with Jeffcoate for the feature and is looking forward to the chance of scoring another win with his old mate.

“Steve has the horse absolutely flying at the moment,” said McElhinney.

“My daughter Tiarn still part-owns him and we decided it was in his best interests to go up to Steve, who could find more suitable races for him.

“He has won five races up there now and young Grace Panella and Jemma Coney, who drive Jeffcoate on a regular basis, seem to get the best out of him.

“I am just coming off the bench tonight for a cameo appearance, given that the girls are unavailable.

"I won two races on him two years ago so it would be a real buzz for me if I were able to win this race.”

Jeffcoate will start from gate one over the 2030 metre trip and McElhinney believes he should be able to drive through and hold the front and from there play “catch me if you can tactics.”

“I feel that we can be in front tonight, it is where he races best and seems to be the best way to drive him,” said the veteran reinsman.

“If we can get a cheap enough lead and be able to cruise through the middle stages, I think he will take some running down.”

Teak and Lightning Bob were the other heat winners last Friday night and both have come up with challenging second-row draws.

• MICK DUMESNY