Trots Centre: Big love for Jess’s nutty Little dude

He turns heads in Jess Tubbs’ Myrniong stables and he’s doing the same on the track through the region-based racing series.

Little Peanut, the quirky little chestnut gelding, has been on fire with three wins and two seconds at Tabcorp Park Melton since racing exclusively there for the past couple of months.

And while he’s been the punters’ pal in recent times, there’s still no bigger fan of the horse than his trainer, who can’t get enough of this “cool little guy”.

“He’s terrific. He’s got so much character. Everybody just loves him,” Tubbs said.

“He’s one of those horses since he started racing that people will just come and visit at the races.

“He likes a hug, but he will give you a bit of a nip if he’s in the mood for it. He’s a cheeky little bugger and the kind of horse that follows you around while you are cleaning his yard out.

“He’s a ripper and he’s got the ability to back it up so we love him extra.”

Out cleaning yards and come around the corner to this #twopeanuts pic.twitter.com/k3PKrRGMho

— Larajay Farm (@LarajayFarm) April 19, 2020

Early in his career, Little Peanut had been racing at the top level, with three Group 1 appearances netting him a second in the NSW Breeders Challenge as a two-year-old, a down-the-track finish in the Victoria Derby and a sixth placing in the NSW Derby of 2018.

A cracked sesamoid in a race at Menangle during early 2019 threatened his career and had him confined to a box for months on end. But he eventually got back to full fitness and was seen again at the racetrack later that year.

While wary of his significant injury history, Tubbs is hopeful the son of Blissfull Hall can soon return to Group 1 racing.

“I think he has certainly got the ability there, it just depends … he’s had injuries before. How much that’s going to impact on him, we don’t know. And when that could re-emerge, we don’t know,” she said.

“Every run is a bonus. He certainly was not in a great way after his Menangle campaign (2019) and had surgery and a long, long rehab with a few set-backs. So for him to get back to the races at all was pretty special, but for (husband) Greg (Sugars) and I it wasn’t an option not to spend the money on him. He deserved that even if he was just going to end up in the paddock. He’s absolutely repaid us now.”

Little Peanut will line-up in the TAB Long May We Play Pace (2240m, NR 90 to 120) at Melton on Saturday night looking to make it back-to-back wins after his success at the track on May 16.

Tubbs has six runners on the evening program, three of which go head-to-head in the Western Equine Veterinary Services Pace (1720m, NR 78 to 89). And punters take note – she’s declared Cocosfella the best of her night’s chances in that very race.

TALKING TROTS ON SENTRACK:

Hosts Jason Bonnington and Blake Redden have another big line-up for today’s Talking Trots on SENTrack, which runs weekdays from 11am-1pm on 1377AM in Melbourne, 657AM in Perth and 1575AM in Wollongong.

Click here to listen live and for links to download the SEN app.