Michael Howard
The top end of Victoria’s trotting ranks may have a fresh new look after Mufasa Metro and Hopeful Beauty produced scintillating performances to score at Tabcorp Park Melton.
Mufasa Metro scorched the Aldebaran Park Trot to produce a 25-metre win for trainer/driver John Justice that will likely seal his progression towards open-class racing, and then Yabby Dam Farms mare Hopeful Beauty left the boys bruised in the Group 3 feature.
The five-year-old French bred mare produced a devastating final dash to outclass fancied McLovin (leader), Sundons Courage (breeze) and Wobelee, with the latter losing her back so brisk was Hopeful Beauty’s run to the line.
It set up a seven-metre win in the Hygain Melton Trotters Free For All, the equal richest victory of her 28-start career.
“She did do it very impressively tonight,” reinsman Josh Duggan told TrotsVision. ”It helped when I could just use her for that 200-metre sprint too.
“Last week I had to take off a little bit earlier than what I really wanted too, but if I can leave it to anywhere from the 400 onwards she can be really deadly.”
Tonight first-up McLovin lobbed to the lead relatively easily and, despite some mid-race attention from Sundons Courage to McLovin’s outside, his reinswoman Kate Gath was able to maintain an even pace.
They rallied with a 28.6-second third quarter and carried that into the last quarter, a fast finish that made Hopeful Beauty’s emergence all the more impressive. She crashed the line in a 27.5-second final quarter, a full 1.29 seconds quicker than the leaders.
“I was always a little bit worried in the run with Wobelee on my back and then the two in front of me, they’re nice horses too, but to her credit when I pulled out she really knuckled down and went away good,” Duggan said. “If you can leave her to that 200 or 400-metre sprint she’ll be there with any of them.”
There was similar optimism in the Justice camp after Mufasa Metro stamped himself as a trotter on the rise with a stunning domination of tonight’s Aldebaran Park Trot, which prompted a bold statement from the trainer/driver on TrotsVision.
“I think he’s better,” Justice declared after host Rob Auber asked if the four-year-old was “the next Lenin”, a winner of 41 of his 108 starts, mostly for Justice, including two V. L. Dullard Cups.
Mufasa Metro couldn’t have been more impressive tonight in scoring by 25 metres from Golden Sunset, clearing out amid a 28.2-second third quarter and then increasing his gap throughout a 28.5-second run to the line.
It’s a result that puts Mufasa Metro on a collision course with Victoria’s best trotters.
“There is a free for all coming up soon, 80 to 120 (national rating), where he’d draw good over 1700, it’s a possibility,” Justice said. “He’s probably handicapped out of some of the (country) cups at the moment. I’ll talk to (owner) Mark (Gurry) and we’ll decide in the next couple of days.”
A son of a gun has started to show some of mum’s zip with La Captain tonight reeling off a third successive win for Jess Tubbs and Greg Sugars, this time capturing the E K Bray Coountry Clubs Pace Final.
The four-year-old by Captaintreacherous is the second foal out of La Machane, who won $335,268 from 20 victories and 61 starts when trained by Sugars and his dad Ross.
“(La Machane) was obviously one of my favourites, really kick-started my training career and took us on a pretty good ride,” Sugars said.
“Thankfully got some of her progeny now and they’re going on with the job. Not to the same heights that she was at, but we’re getting there.”
La Puddie was La Machane’s first foal and has won 10 of 52, while three-year-old Machane Said has kicked off his career with trainer Jayne Davies and two-year-old Benbullan is yet to race.
They’ll do well to emulate La Captain, who returned from a short summer spell to turn his fortunes around this campaign, with tonight a third straight salute after scoring in only three of his first 27 starts.
“Really happy with what he’s been able to do in his three runs this time in,” Sugars said.
“He’s probably been quite disappointing throughout most of his career. He was a bit gangly and raw and not the nicest gated horse, we always thought a little more time and he’s going to develop into something.
“This time around we are doing things a bit differently with him and at the moment he’s a far stronger, physical horse to look at and we’re getting the results.”
The result was one of two success for Tubbs and Sugars tonight having also scored with Cherokee Joe who scored in the Country Clubs Championship Final.
It was a particularly sweet result for owner and birthday boy Don Smith, who’s part of a big ownership group that’s enjoyed a good dose of success with the four-year-old gelding.
Cherokee Joe was driven a treat tonight by Sugars, who capitalised on the brisk early pace to strike late and register the gelding’s 10th career win from 35 starts.
“Great to have (Don) involved in the stable and the Jarvis boys who have supported us for a long, long time, really good group of people in this horse.”
