Keeping Pace: Tom Ison's Metallica Man to contest TAB Regional Championship State Final

Saturday night will see Metallica Man commence from the one barrier in the $100,00 TAB Regional Championship State Final at Menangle.

After taking out the Hunter Regional Final last Friday night at Newcastle, the Tom Ison-trained and driven Metallica Man will come up against horses who were successful in finals at Wagga (Riverina), Bathurst (Western) and Menangle (Metropolitan)

Ison was "a bit nervous" heading into the Newcastle final.

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"I haven't had much success at Menangle but it will be another grand final, he said.

"The horse does go a lot better in front ... He has unbelievable gate speed - one of the fastest to leave the gate for me."

Metallica Man has given so much joy to a lot of harness enthusiasts.

The horse is raced by Quirindi's Brendan Hunt and his partner Lyndall Saunders, as well as her father, Ted.

Ted, a Caroona resident, will make the trip with his family to Menangle on Saturday night. It is his first foray into the world of harness racing.

Hunt stopped training in order to concentrate on his sign-writing business and moved his horses over to the Ison stables.

"I started my driving career in Broken Hill, then got my trainer's licence before moving to Tamworth, but haven't trained since last November," Hunt said.

"I've known Tom Ison and his family for a long time, so sent my horses to him. He has a great set up and has got a big future in the sport."

Good luck to Metallica Man who, after his latest win, doubled his career earnings to more than $105,000. The win was worth $54,500 and was his 10th victory in 33 starts.

Meanwhile, an owners' syndicate - inclusive of several North West residents - will cheer on Just Believe when the trotter vies to make the final of Sweden's 2023 Elitloppet.

The Jess Tubbs and Greg Sugars-trained 2022 Inter Dominion winner will start second from the outside (gate seven) in the second of the two Elitloppet heats at the Solvalla racetrack this weekend.

The one silver lining is that Just Believe looks to have drawn the easier of the two heats.

The horse's North West owners are Mark Lowe, Terry Browne, Robert Peterson, David Pike, Margot Sweeney, Greg and Judy McDonell.

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The Monday afternoon meeting at Newcastle saw Manilla-owned and trained pacer Uncle Gregory secure a nice win for trainer Chris Sutherland.

Commencing from the seven barrier and driven by Rodney Atkins, the horse secured an an all-the-way win in a tidy mile rate of 1min 56.5sec for 1609 metres.

Four metres adrift was Ashley's Blue Chip (Brad Elder), with Our Ultimate Fergy (Cameron Hart) three metres way in third place.

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