Star West Australian pacer Never Ending is set to get a strong audit of his Eureka (2300m) credentials when he makes his Menangle debut in Saturday’s bestinbeds.com.au Pace (2300m).
Never Ending will start from the outside barrier in the field of 10, with Gary Hall Jnr set to travel to Sydney to take the drive.
Captains Knock, who will run in the Cordina Racing slot in the Eureka, has drawn barrier three, while the Jason Grimson-trained Major Moth looks set to be a key contender from barrier five.
Grimson has previously stated Major Moth could be something special.
Prentice said he was looking forward to seeing how his stable star measured up against the high-quality field.
“It’s a good test for him,” Prentice told Racing WA Harness.
“I heard during the week Major Moth was going to be in it and there’s huge wraps on him.
“It’s obviously a Free-For-All and some of the horses in this race are as good as ones that will be in the Eureka.
“We don’t want to give him a gut buster in his first run here and the draw gives us the option of doing nothing early and tracking something into it.”
Prentice said he has been mindful of trying to keep Never Ending’s routine similar to what he does back home.
“It’s taking a little bit of time for him to get used to everything here,” he said.
“He has to acclimatise to a different track here and try get him to work as similar to what I do at home.
“He’s practically been light working in the middle of the track at Menangle because there’s been cones out on the track.
“The home straight can be a bit confusing and working that far off the rail did confuse him a bit.
“He did steer well and rolled into the straight nicely.”
Just two slots remain for the Eureka, with Kevin and Kay Seymour yet to decide on a runner, while the TAB will pick the runner following Saturday week’s Discovery Stakes at Menangle.
Never Ending remains the $3.75 favourite with TABtouch, ahead of Don Hugo ($4.50) and Captains Knock ($7).
Prentice said he had hoped to get back to Perth ahead of next month’s W Night, but indicated he would now stay in Sydney for the duration of Never Ending’s campaign.
Tim Walker
Image - Pacepix