Boyanup pacer Never Ending fails to overcome tough barrier draw with eighth-placed finish in TAB Eureka

Boyanup-trained pacer Never Ending was unable to overcome a tough barrier draw for the world’s richest harness race on Saturday, finishing eighth in the TAB Eureka at Menangle. WA’s only hope in the slot race — trained in the South West by Justin Prentice — was pegged as the favourite in the lead-in markets but drifted while retaining favouritism after being given the widest possible starting position in the pre-event draw. Starting from gate 10 at $3.20 odds, the four-year-old was never able to get into the mix in a lightning-fast contest, spending much of the race running last. A trademark strong finish at least locked in a final spot of eighth, nearly eight-and-a-half lengths behind the winner and just under six lengths off a top three spot. Driver Gary Hall Jr was unable to have much of an influence on proceedings, needing to go very wide to find any room to move down the home straight but being too far back to challenge the pace-setters. The million-dollar event was won by Don Hugo, meaning both editions of the Euerka have been claimed by trainer-driver Luke McCarthy. The run was Never Ending’s second at Menangle, having enhanced his Eureka credentials by storming home from a wide barrier to finish an impressive second on debut at the track last month.