That is the view of Bathurst Harness Racing Club chief executive officer Danny Dwyer – one of the few people who had predicted that last year’s surprise Gold Crown victor Castalong Shadow was a horse to watch.

The Geoff Simpson trained and driven two-year-old colt had just one win from three starts prior to the Gold Crown heats. Castalong Shadow won his heat to qualify for the decider, where he was a $24.70 outsider.

But as Dwyer pointed out, it was a good omen.

On the list of those two-year-olds that have won one of the major series at the annual carnival – the Gold Tiara (fillies) and Gold Crown (colts and geldings) – very few boast the decider as their maiden success.

“You have to go back to 2001 to find a filly [Donna Lombo] that won a final which hadn’t won a race before that final, you have to go back even further to find when that happened in the Gold Crown,” Dywer said.

“It just shows you’ve got to have a horse that has won before the carnival or in the heats really if you want to win the crown or tiara.

“It’s exciting racing and I keep going back to when Castalong Shadow won it last year and how good that was. It just goes to show that you don’t have to have the most expensive horse or have run in those high profile races.”

Winning form is something that a number of the Bathurst hopefuls have heading into the carnival, with Gold Tiara heats to be conducted at the Bathurst Paceway on Friday night, Gold Crown heats on Saturday night and the heats of the three-year-old Gold Bracelet and Gold Chalice series’ set for Monday afternoon.

Bernie Hewitt’s College Chapel is colt which Dwyer thinks can go well in the Gold Crown. He already has two wins from three starts for the Georges Plains trainer, including success in the Group 3 Sapling Stakes.

How the heats unfold and who makes the finals remains to be seen, but Dwyer is confident the 32^nd edition of the carnival will build on the success of those which have gone before it.

Not only will the paceway play host to quality racing acting – five race meetings having been scheduled – but a series of off-track events such as a cocktail party and ambrose golf day add to the carnival’s pulling power.

“You do look forward to it absolutely, it’s a lot of work and there’s a bit of trepidation going into it, especially in around those final payments,” Dwyer said.

“That’s the most nerve-wracking, but after that’s done and the fields are finalised and released, you can sit back and relax.

“For the club it’s great when you can say you’ve got a major carnival that draws people not only from New South Wales and in and around the local area, but inter-state as well.

“That’s how the club sees it, as an opportunity to showcase our club, it’s one of the very few carnivals still left in harness racing.

“People come and stay in Bathurst for the week and they look forward to it each and every year.

“People will book for next year when they leave this year, so it’s very exciting.”