Champion pacer Leap To Fame stands between Catch A Wave and his quest for open age Group 1 success in Victoria.
The closest the eight times Group 1 winner has come to achieving the milestone in his home state was when he was narrowly beaten into second place behind Act Now in the 2023 Victoria Cup.
The Andy Gath-prepared six-year-old showed he is primed to launch a serious assault on this year’s version of the race with an authoritative win in the Hertz Melton Casey Classic on Saturday night.
Sent out a $1.35 favorite, Catch A Wave reeled off a 54.2 last 800 metres and appeared to have something in reserve while scoring by three metres from War Dan Buddy in a mile rate of 1:53.9.
Kate Gath was rendered a passenger as the son of Captaintreacherous charged down the back straight quarter in 26.9.
“I strangled him down the back and he still went 26.9 so I give up. It was a decent mile rate, but the track is fast tonight, so we’ll take it,” Gath said.
“I would have rather gone 28 or 29 down the back, but he wanted to get trucking. And I made sure I really grabbed hold of him, but it still wasn’t enough.”
Catch A Wave followed a breathtaking last-to-first win at Melton with a seventh placing in the Group 3 VHRC Caduceus Classic.
“He was still really good last start, and his sectionals were good, it’s just that he wasn’t quite as good as the start before. So it’s good to get back in the winner’s stall,” she said.
Bookmakers have installed Leap To Fame as the $1.40 favourite for the Victoria Cup in a fortnight.
Jilliby Ballerini emerged as a genuine contender in the upcoming feature races after she outclassed her rivals in the Group 3 Australasian Trotting Championship.
Making her standing start debut, Jilliby Ballerini stepped cleanly from her 10 metre handicap before Jason Lee urged the mare to the lead with two laps to travel.
When Lee opted to release the reins with 400 metres to travel, Jilliby Ballerini quickly put a gap on her rivals before opening up in the home straight to record a 20.7-metre winning margin.
Lee was quietly assured the daughter of Majestic Son would handle the tapes at her first attempt in a race.
“To be honest I was confident that she would step, but whenever you get too confident with things like that it goes the other way,” Lee said.
Lee was delighted with the way his charge put pay to a field which included the reigning Inter Dominion winner Arcee Phoenix.
“We were humming off the back, and when I let her start to slide half way around the corner heading into the bend, she had gears,” he said.
The Russell Jack-trained three-year-old Its Confidential displayed his Victoria Derby credentials when he upstaged stablemate Jacks Ultimate Fury ($1.80 fav) in the Mimosa Homes Victoria Sires 3YO Classic.
Its Confidential ($19) enjoyed the run of the race on the back of Jacks Ultimate Fury, whose driver Nathan Jack ensured a genuine tempo at the head of affairs, including a 26.9 back straight quarter.
The winner’s mile rate of 1:53 was only 1.9 seconds outside Captain Ravishing’s track record of 1:51.1 for the 2240 metres.
Driver Leigh Sutton admitted he was confident of figuring in the finish around the home turn.
“At the top of the lane when Nathan chased up on his horse, I thought then that this was mine to lose,” Sutton said.
“He’s a tricky horse and you can’t pull him around, but once I got half-way up the lane I knew it was my race.”
The future of the trotter looks decidedly bright following the Group 1 Aldebaran Park Need For Speed finals.
Outstanding filly Tracy The Jet ($1.05 fav) chalked up her seventh consecutive win in Victoria when she scored easily in the Need For Speed Princess Final.
“I don’t think you would find many horses around as a three-year-old that can do what she does,” driver James Herbertson said after the race.
The Jayne Davies-trained Commodus ($1.05 fav) showed he is head of the class of three-year-old colts and geldings when he led all the way in the Need For Speed Prince Final.
Driver Chris Alford believes the son of Father Patrick will prove even more effective when driven back in the field.
“Once the better races like the Derby come around, he will be better with a sit,” Alford said.
