Following on from the inaugural running of this series in 2015, which proved a massive success and confirmed Stoneriggs Mystery as the best horse in the UK at present (if not ever!), the series will return in 2016.
There are eleven horses nominated for the series which includes seven legs running throughout the season over a variety of distances and on different surfaces, so the winner of the series can rightly be crowned the Big Gun of Harness Racing in the UK. A big thank you is due at this stage to The Standardbred Sale Co. who have kindly agreed to sponsor the series for a second year supporting the pacers in the UK.

The eleven nominees are:

Ayr Regal – 2011 Hasty Hall x Ayr Queen
The joint youngest nominee who was a top 3 year old and has made the transition to Free For All class. Winner of over £30,000 with a record of 1.58.7.

Ayr Majesty – 2010 Daylon Alert x Ayr Queen
A half-brother to Ayr Regal and himself a top 2 & 3 year old performer – tough consistent racehorse. Winner of over £19,000 with a record of 1.57.9.

Brywinsmagicpotion – 2007 Camotion x Lifes Magic Girl
Ultra-consistent Free For All horse who was very unlucky not to book a trip to the Inter Dominions in 2015 when finishing as the runner up in the qualifying series. Winner of £30,000 with a record of 1.57.7.

Fool Around – 2007 Sable Matters x Merrygoround
BHRC Horse of the Year 2013 but not quite reaching those heights at present . Winner of £18,000 with a record of 1.56.

Meadowbranch Josh – 2007 The Cammissioner x Churchill Queen
Speed aplenty, won the Big Guns Leg in Appleby 2015 and is firing again this year with a win already at Tregaron. Winner of over £14,000 with a record of 1.57.

Rhyds Rainbow – 2011 Hasty Hall x Kentucky Sunshine
Fastest 3 year old filly ever seen in Britain, had a year off in 2015 due to injury – the joker in the pack. Winner of five from eight in her 3 year old season with a record of 1.57.3.

Saunders Mach 3 – 2008 Mach 3 x Campressious
BHRC Horse of the Year 2014, had a poor year 2015 and will need to be back to his best in this series. Credible start to the season with a strong performance at Tir Prince already. Winner of almost 50% of his lifetime starts with earnings of over £12,000.

Stamp Hill – 2010 Armbro Deuce x Teatime Hall
Juvenile champion at 2, 3 and 4; 2 year old British Record Holder in 1:59.4. Needs to up his game just a little to compete with the big boys. Winner of £22,000 with a record of 1.57.8.

Stoneriggs Mystery – 2006 Village Jasper x Stoneriggs Quality
This is the current Big Gun in every respect: last year’s winner of the series, BHRC Horse of the Year 2012 and 2015, he is almost unbeatable in his present form. Winner of 39 races, with 9 wins in 2015 and 2 already this season, earnings of £48,000 and a record of 1.55.7.

Wellfield Ghost – 2009 Village Connection x Newtown Alysia
Finished second in Wolverhampton leg 2015, one to watch when the going gets tough. Winner of over £10,000 with a record of 1.59.9.

Wellfield Official – 2008 Village Connection x Naughty Shady Lady
A half-brother to top North American performer Art Official, on his day can run with the best. Winner of a Free For All last summer, with a record of 1.58.8.

The new series kicks off with a bang in the Appleby Spring Meeting (Monday 30th May) run over 1 1/4 miles on a grass track with eight of the above set to do battle; Rhyds Rainbow, Stamp Hill and Wellfield Ghost have declined their invites at this early stage. Stoneriggs Mystery will certainly start favourite as he has already won two races this season including equalling the track record at Tir Prince on Saturday night over 1.5 miles; his closest challenger that night Saunders Mach 3 was having his first race of the season and should improve. If Meadowbranch Josh gets a good draw he will set the pace. Brywinsmagicpotion has the credentials to feature along with Ayr Majesty but the other three will need a little luck in running to make the frame, although Wellfield Official has form at Appleby and ran a credible third behind Mystery and Majesty at Tir Prince a couple of weeks ago.
This leg is quickly followed just six days later on the tapeta surface at Dunstall Park, Wolverhampton (Sunday 5th June) over 1 mile. The Big Guns leg will be one of the feature races in this two day meeting.
We then move to South Wales on Sunday 24th July and to the Amman Valley Trotting Club – the only track in the UK to boast a World Record and given the perfect conditions that mile record of 1:53.7 set by the mighty little Doonbeg may be under threat.
August sees two legs being run; the first up in Scotland at Corbiewood, Stirling, at the Golden Anniversary weekend (6th/7th August). A tight, exciting track (three eighths of a mile) which will test these Free For All horses over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs.
The next leg, nearly three weeks later (Friday 26th August), will see them doing battle on the half mile grass oval set in the Welsh hills near Tregaron at their August Festival – run over a mile we could well see the two minute barrier being broken on a grass surface.
September will stage the final two legs. The first on Friday 9th September on Newcastle Racecourse’s new all-weather surface over 1 mile 2 furlongs – new surface, new venue for harness racing and hopefully an exciting evening’s racing.
The final leg will be held at Tir Prince, Wales’ premier track on Saturday 24th September where we will see the Big Gun of 2016 crowned – after a season-long series we will finally know the answers.
Can any of these horses shoot down Stoneriggs Mystery – at ten years old he is still firing on all cylinders?

Huw Evans