Fresh face shapes as Larajay’s best hope of Vicbred success

The powerhouse Larajay Farm operation has eight runners on Friday night’s blockbuster Vicbred Super Series semi-finals card, but head trainer Jess Tubbs is looking to a relatively new face around the stables as her team’s leading chance of Group 1 glory on New Year’s Eve.

Tubbs pin-pointed juvenile squaregaiter Hide And Seek – a winner of his two-year-old trotting colts and geldings’ heat in impressive fashion early this week – as the yard’s most likely Vicbred winner.

“It’s not the strongest division that he finds himself in. We’re still learning about the horse, but he won his heat comfortably. Potentially it could be a wildcard like that, as much as we’ve put a season of work into so many others,” Tubbs said.

“Looking at the competition, it could potentially be a horse like that because there’s so much depth in so many of the different categories.

“It’s going to be no mean feat to pick up a Vicbred crown this year.”

Formerly trained by David Jack, Hide And Seek was having his first run for Tubbs when he scored by more than 10m at Maryborough on Monday and heads to the Vicbred final on December 31 with a career record of two wins from four career starts.

Looking more closely at Friday night’s pacing semi-finals, Larajay will be best represented in the two-year-old fillies’ qualifiers.

One of the more progressive of the Tubbs-trained quintet in that division appears to be Vee Em Gee Macray.

The daughter of Sweet Lou has won her past two outings, including a heat of the Vicbred at Shepparton on December 13 when she swooped home to score at a big price.

“Maybe as a three-year-old I think she’d probably be a better hope. There’s some more well-seasoned racehorses at the moment and she really does still need to mature. She’s pretty green,” Tubbs said.

“If we had a good barrier draw for the semi-finals I’d have been a little more confident, but it’s going to be very tricky from where she is (four). She’s going to have to push the issue early and make a bit of her own luck – which hopefully she’s good enough to do – but we haven’t got that racing experience to know just what she’s really capable of.”

Tubbs rated Aureus as the leading contender among her two-year-old fillies despite a couple of recent down-the-track finishes.

The Myrniong trainer felt an inability to use Regu-Mate – a treatment used to prevent fillies and mares coming into season – was a factor behind the horse’s occasional disappointing form.

“When she’s on her game she’s really the whole package,” she said.

“I’d say, from what we’ve seen, Aureus has the most ability, and we just hope Vee Em Gee Macray grows into hers and fulfils that potential.”

Vee Em Gee Macray, The Huntress and Aureus will all compete in the second of the Art Major Vicbred Super Series two-year-old fillies’ semi-finals at Melton on Friday night, with stablemates Tizzy Lizzie and Somethin Bout Eily in the first.

The team has eight runners on the card, including La Captain and Better Eclipse in the Rock N Roll Heaven Vicbred first semi for four-year-old entires and geldings and Nonparreil in the Always B Miki opening semi for three-year-old fillies. 

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