Tact McLeod inches closer to race day return

By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk 

After more than a year away, classy pacer Tact McLeod is set for a race day return at Addington next week.

All going well the Mark Jones-trained pacer will line up in the Allied Security Group 3 Maurice Holmes Vase, one of the traditional lead-up races to the New Zealand Trotting Cup, at Addington next Friday. The winner gains automatic entry into the Cup.

The "gentle giant", as Jones calls him, has been sidelined since March last year after injuring a tendon.   

"He's basically been in work with us for 12 months non-stop," says Jones, "we've been very patient with him."

And the signs so far are encouraging.

Tact McLeod finished second at Wednesday's Addington trials behind The Lazarus Effect and Jones is hopeful he will only get better.

"I would say he is about a seven out of 10 at the moment, he's not screwed down by any means."

"There is a lot of improvement in him."

Having overcome injuries and other issues over the years, Tact McLeod is comparatively lightly raced for a seven-year-old with nine wins from 30 starts.

He was initially trained by co-owner Trevor Proctor in Winton before heading north to Jones' Burnham stables.

He has shown repeatedly that he has the ability to be a top liner as seen with his third in the 2025 Miracle Mile in Sydney and his fourth in the Hunter Cup.
He was also seventh in the 2024 New Zealand Cup after a big run. 

Ideally Jones would like to line Tact McLeod up for a second Cup tilt on November 10.

"We are taking this day by day," says Jones, "but we want to give it our best shot."