EAGLEHAWK’S Glenn Stephens went within a few centimetres of winning a second Daylesford Gift in yesterday’s $2000 Telstra NextG Network-backed 100 metre race at Cricket Willow.
Just two days after his victory in the veterans 120m at Maryborough’s Highland Gathering, Stephens’ great run rolled on a track where he won the feature event two years ago near Shepherds Flat.
A top-class field for the final included Bendigo Thousand and Maryborough Gift champion Cam Dunbar, NSW raider Andrew Howell, and the Hargreaves brothers, Matthew and Shaun.
Another sprinter chasing glory was Western Australia’s Alex Glorie, who had starred in the 800m, 400m, 100m and 70m races he contested at the Daylesford meet.
Stephens put the heat on as he raced off the 12m mark.
The powerfully-built sprinter made a great start up the slope, with Dunbar and Shaun Hargreaves rapidly closing the gap from their marks of 7m and 5 1/2m.
Victorious in the 400m at last week’s Devonport Gift, 20-year-old Shaun Hargreaves capped his first hit-out at Cricket Willow with a stunning victory.
The sports management and exercise science student from Werribee won the Gift in 10.87 seconds.
Dunbar fought on to be runner-up in 10.91, and Stephens was third in 10.94.
The older of the Hargreaves siblings, 25-year-old Matthew was fourth on the Cricket Willow track in 11.092 as Glorie, 11.033, and Howell, 11.036, completed what was a spectacular final.
The John Henry and Peter Walsh-trained Shaun Hargreaves said he was keen to race at Daylesford following his excellent form at Tasmania’s lucrative carnivals at Christmas and New Year.
“I had some good runs in Tassie,’’ Hargreaves said.
A successful raid on the Apple Isle included second placing in the Burnie Gift (120m) and victory in Devonport’s 400m.
He had also won the Mount Gambier 120m.
Hargreaves said he was slightly intimidated by racing his brother and a couple of Gift winners in yesterday’s final.
“Matt beat me a in quite a few races last year,’’ said Shaun Hargreaves.
Both thrive on the sibling rivalry.
“The uphill run suited me,’’ Shaun said of the Shepherds Flat venue.
Just minutes after his Daylesford Gift victory, Shaun Hargreaves was talking about goals as summer rolls on.
He has nominated to contest the 70m, 120m and 400m at the Rye Gift to be run next Saturday.
Hargreaves also plans to contest the Bendigo Black Black Opal 400m, the richest race of its type in Australia, at the Bendigo International Madison carnival in March.
“To win at Stawell is a major goal for every athlete,’’ he said of the Easter campaign.
Stephens’ campaign at the Daylesford Gift began with second placing in the open 70m.
The Darryl Nettleton-trained sprinter from South Bendigo Athletics Club clocked a time of 7.87 off the 8 1/4 metre mark.
Nettleton won his heat of the veterans 300m and was sixth in the final.
Racing off the 32m mark, the long-time competitor from Castlemaine clocked a time of 37.59 in the dash for cash.
Eaglehawk’s Kathryn Heagney fought on to be third in the Vietnam Veterans-sponsored 300m race for veteran athletes.
Bendigo teenager Kirrily Burnett followed up her victory in the women’s 400m at Maryborough by reaching yesterday’s final.
Racing off the limit mark of 43m, Burnett was caught by Ramona Casey, 23m, at the 180m mark, but kept on fighting on.
At the top of the home straight, Burnett was in contention for a placing, but was swamped by rivals in the last 20 metres.
The Bendigo YMCA Harriers club member achieved a time of 57.53 as 79-hundredths of a second separated first and eighth at the end of the one-lap duel.
Clubmates at Bendigo University, Tim McCullagh and Andrew Buchanan ran strongly in the open 1600m.
Racing off the backmark of 85m, McCullagh was sixth in 4:18.79, and Buchanan was seventh in 4:19.01 after starting on the 100m mark.
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