Forever Onthe Punt, a four-year-old pacer trained by Brad Hewitt in Goulburn, is set to compete in the New South Wales Breeders Challenge Final for four-year-olds and geldings at Menangle on Saturday night. The gelding, owned and bred by Courtney Day of Grenfell, has demonstrated significant progress since joining Hewitt’s stable, having secured three consecutive metropolitan victories.

Originally trained by Michael Day in the Western District, Forever Onthe Punt captured attention with a debut win in March last year and eventually earned four wins under Michael Day’s guidance. After a mid-season break in July, the horse was transitioned to Brad Hewitt’s care, a move that has yielded strong results, particularly in city-grade competitions.

In last week’s semi-final of the Breeders Challenge, Forever Onthe Punt delivered a personal best time of 1:50.3 over one mile, defeating a competitive field by three metres, including a closing Seasider. This performance positioned the horse well ahead of the final, where drawing gate two is expected to provide a strategic advantage, allowing the pacer to secure an optimal position early in the race.

Hewitt praised the gelding’s condition upon arriving at his stable, noting the foundation laid by Michael Day and Courtney Day. “He was ready to go for us and all we had to do is simply keep him ticking over,” Hewitt said. He added that the horse has adapted well to racing on the larger track at Menangle and continues to improve with each race, highlighting the significance of last week’s semi-final victory against a strong field.

The Breeders Challenge Final is among a busy slate of harness racing events across New South Wales on Saturday. Parkes remains a popular venue, drawing a large number of entries for its ten-race program. Newcastle and Wagga will also host race meetings, featuring eight and seven races respectively.