The grace and beauty of a high-class trotter in full flight is not lost on Andy Gath.
Gath allowed himself to savor the vision of recent stable addition Callmethebreeze scoring first up in the Renwick Farms Trotters Free For All at Melton on Saturday night.
Gath, who is without peer as a conditioner of trotters in the country, was moved to observe.
“He is like poetry in motion,” Gath said.
First up since finishing runner up in the $600,000 TAB Trot in April, Callmethebreeze settled mid field on the pegs in the small field before Kate Gath pulled out and led up the outside horses with 900 metres to travel.
Despite being pushed three wide around the home turn, Callmethebreeze ($1.35 fav) knuckled down to his task in admirable fashion down the home straight and scored running away by five metres from One Over All in a mile rate of 1:58.8.
Kate Gath too was enamoured with the experience of driving the Haras Des Trotteurs owned trotter in a race for the first time.
“He’s a lovely horse and he got the job done really well,” Gath said.
“We couldn’t ask for more and I was really happy with him – he seemed to do it pretty easily,” she said.
Gath said she was forced to drive the winner against his normal pattern of racing.
“We wanted to drive him with one run as he is driven most of the time, particularly being first up, but we ended up lobbing a bit further back than we hoped,” she said.
“Obviously in that second quarter when the speed dropped right off I had to gradually move up and the rest he got done really well.
He’s very fast and gets up the straight very quickly and he’s the kindest horse I’ve had anything to do with, already he is a stable favourite and we’ll probably fight over him.”
Callmethebreeze will not contest the Inter Dominion in Sydney and is unlikely to make the trip across the Tasman for the Dominion Trot at Addington in November.
The French bred son of Trixton’s likely itinerary includes the Bill Collins Mile, the Great Southern Star and the Trotting Grand Prix.
Classy Grand Circuit player Better Eclipse served notice he will help fly the Aussie flag with aplomb in this year’s New Zealand Trotting Cup with an impressive first up win in the Legend Popular Alm & Vin Knight Free For All.
First up since winning the Group 1 Auckland Trotting Cup in May, Better Eclipse was eased out at the start from his extreme draw while his main danger Catch A Wave worked around early to sit parked outside the leader Jilliby Willow.
Greg Sugars made his move on Better Eclipse setting off three wide without cover with 700 metres to travel and the six-year-old loomed up ominously three wide around the home turn.
The two class runners fought out the finish with Better Eclipse ($3.50 fav) gaining the ascendancy in the shadows of the post to score by a metre from Catch A Wave in a mile rate of 1:53.4 for the 1720 metres.
Better Eclipse will line up in the Group 1 Len Smith Mile at Menangle next Saturday night before being aimed at the Group 1 Victoria Cup at Melton a month later.
In November Better Eclipse will accompany his illustrious stable mate Just Believe across the Tasman where both horses are sure to be key players at Addington on the second Tuesday in November.
Champion Queensland pacer Leap To Fame will form the other half of a formidable two-pronged Australian assault on the New Zealand Trotting Cup.
