Flair for stardom

By Brad Kingsbury
CRANBOURNE boasted the ‘star factor’ during Sunday’s Tricodes harness racing program, when super trotter A Touch Of Flair showed all his impressive best.
When driver Daryl Douglas pulled out from the rear of the field at the top of the straight on the final lap, the big crowd started clapping and cheering the champion square-gaiter home.
The odds-on favourite did not disappoint his fans and finished with a withering burst to bolt clear and win from Code Of Honour and Le Petit Corporal.
The run was one of the highlights of the afternoon’s racing that kept nearly 4000 patrons entertained for almost six hours.
Punters had their hearts in their mouths when A Touch Of Flair, from a 50-metre handicap, reared before the start, but the star gelding stepped away without trouble and caught the field with ease on the first lap, before winning the Group 3 race with ease.
Victory in the $20,000 event brought his total prize money to $475,000 and Douglas rated the six-year-old highly afterwards.
“I’d say he’s the best I’ve driven,” he said.
“He took a little while to settle, but once he got into his work I always thought he could do the job.”
Five favourites saluted on the day’s seven-race harness program.
Among the victors were locally prepared pacer Benditlikebekam, who won the opening race for the Jayne Davies stable at Clyde, and Ted Demmler’s horse Crafty Denis, who downed Pearcedale pacer Singasongasixpence driven by Simone Walker.