Pressure piles on as Inter Dominion series ramps right up
Matt Markham - Raceform • July 11th, 2025 12:00 PM • 3 min read
It’s do-or-die week for Oscar Bonavena in the Queensland Inter Dominion heats on Saturday night, but for the other Kiwi contenders there’s a little more wiggle room to play with.
Valuable points from the opening night of heats last Saturday have pacing hope Pinseeker and trotting star Bet N Win well placed to make next week’s rich finals, but after a luckless round one, the pressure has piled right on to Oscar Bonavena.
Still looking for a gap, the stallion scored low points on opening night, and with those ahead of him looking primed to score big again this week, he’ll likely need to finish in the top three on Saturday to book a spot for next week.
At first glance, the fact he’s landed the coveted ace draw for round two would seem ideal. However, in Oscar’s world, it’s far from it. Despite his worldly experience, he’s shown to be averse to the mobile arm in recent times, often at the worst moments too – most recently in the TAB Trot at Cambridge in April.
Taking no part this week means missing the final a week later, so the pressure on Adam Sanderson to guide the nine-year-old through those early stages is immense.
Meanwhile, a second-line barrier draw in the strongest heat of the night for the pacers has Pinseeker teetering on the edge a little after a slashing second to series favourite Leap To Fame last Saturday night. But, in his typically cool and calm manner, trainer-driver Jonny Cox isn’t showing too much concern.
If there is one thing Cox is worried about though, it’s that Pinseeker is a little too keen to get on with it.
“He got pretty keen in behind Leap To Fame last week, too keen for my liking anyway,” Cox told RaceForm.
“He was flat out around the bend, but I think if he’d relaxed, we might have been able to go with him for a bit longer. That said, to hold on and run second behind a champion was a great effort and we were thrilled with the run.”
The hope for Cox is that the three races in three weeks might just take that little extra pep out of the step of his star pacer and help him to relax out on the track.
Not being on the front line this week could help in that sense, but it doesn’t help in the race to make it to the final – especially when Cox will look down and see the series heavyweights Don Hugo and Leap To Fame drawn on the marker pegs and following each other.
“Getting those points last week takes a little of the pressure off, but we need to score a few more this week again to make sure we get our chance at being in the final.
“The one thing in our favour, and he showed it in the Race by Betcha at Cambridge, is that he can follow speed and get home strongly. And, with Leap To Fame and Don Hugo in the race, they should be rolling along a bit which might mean we can charge home with a bit of luck.”
Missing out on the final would be a cruel result for Pinseeker, Cox and the horse’s connections, given the punt they took to travel to Queensland to compete, and the fact he is clearly well within the top five horses in the series.
Meanwhile, after his emphatic and effortless first-round victory, Rowe Cup winner Bet N Win looks set to go around at short odds again this week after drawing barrier three. He showed serious gate speed to lead last week and will likely roll forward again and really stamp his mark on the series.
His co-trainers, David and Stacey White, will also have Betterthancash going around in a lower-grade race on the night after his luckless run in last week’s The Rising Sun.
