Trainer Chris Svanosio will throw it over to two of his trotting stars, Lovemeto and Gotfeelingsyouknow, to earn a trip to NZ’s biggest trotting race in November.
The classy pair, who finished sixth and second respectively in the Brisbane Inter Dominion final on July 18, are returning to racing.
Lovemeto, part-owned by Melbourne Cup-winning thoroughbred trainer Graeme Rogerson, will be first to return in the final race at Melton on Saturday night.
Gotfeelingsyouknow is likely to return a week later in the feature trot on Geelong Pacing Cup night.
“To be honest, they’ll both have to do everything right in the next few weeks to take them to NZ,” Svanosio said.
“As it stands, Lovemeto is the more likely of the two, but even he will need to win or go super in the (Group 1) Bill Collins (Sprint, October 17) to take him across.”
Lovemeto won a heat of the Brisbane Inter Dominion series, but was neve comfortable around the Albion Park track.
“I’m not sure why, but he didn’t like it. He broke (galloped) in his other two races,” Svanosio said.
“He’s such a good horse and he tries so hard, he still ran a great race for sixt in the final despite galloping.”
His driver in that race, Kerryn Manning, insists he would almost have won with the gallops.
“Gee he did a great job. Knowing the ground and momentum he lost, I’m sure he’d have been right in the finish, maybe even have won if he did everything right,” she said.
With Manning sidelined by a back injury, Svanosio will take the reins himself on Saturday night.
“He’s had plenty of issues and he’s a horse we’ll probably never get 100 percent right, but he seems really well this time in,” Svanosio said.
“He’s had three trials back and is ready to race, but he’s got the outside draw (gate seven) with a couple of nice trotters drawn much better (Hoppy in one and Imperial Monarch in two). It’ll be a test.
“I’d say he’ll have this run, go around again a fortnight later in the Dullard Cup, then the Bill Collins is the week after that.
“Then it’ll be up to ‘Rogey’ (Rogerson) and Merv (Butterworth, co-owner) to make the call on NZ.”
The NZ target would be the $NZ500,000 Group 1 Dominion Trot at Addingtn on November 10. There is also the $150,000 Group 1 NZ Trotting free-for-all three days later.
“Gotfeelingsyouknow has trialled well, too, but we had the vet go over him and it’ll probably be next week when he resumes,” Svanosio said. “If that goes well, he’ll head to the Bill Collins as well.”
Svanosio’s other trotting stars, former Inter Dominion winner Arcee Phoenix and Remus Phoenix, are still a couple of months away from a racetrack return.
“They had long breaks, but are back fast-working now. I’d say trials in November and racing in December,” he said.
Queensland star Gus, who famously won NZ”s big Group 1 double last November, will headline the Aussie raiders again.
The Chantal Turpin-trained star had easily won trials at Albion Park over the past two weeks and is expected to resume racing Saturday week.
Classy Victorian mare Rockinwithattitude, who resumed with a Melton win last Saturday, is also NZ-bound with the feature trot on Kaikoura Cup Day (November 2) her starting point.
Another star mare Jilliby Dreamlover is also in contention for NZ, but like Svanosio’s pair, the trip could hinge on how she performs in the Bill Collins.
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