‘Jimmy’ steals the show in Mildura Cup heat win

Two qualifying heats of Victorian harness racing’s iconic country cup, the CA Fitness Mildura Pacing Cup, delivered their trademark twist last night.

Local hope My Ultimate Jimmy stole the show, turning the form on its head and setting up a wider-open and less predictable final than anyone expected this Saturday night (April 11).

My Ultimate Jimmy scored a brilliant all-the-way victory in the opening heat, giving Mildura horseman Andrew Vozlic and owner Dale Hazel a night to remember.

The four-year-old showed speed from the outset and never looked in danger, running a sharp 1:56.7 mile rate and sprinting home in 57 seconds flat.

The first horse owned by Red Cliffs horticulturist Dale Hazel is proving a fruitful investment.

“We’re just so happy, over the moon!” an elated Hazel said of his four-year old’s ninth win from 20 starts – all at the Mildura circuit.

“It’s a bit surreal to tell you the truth. He went super – people have come up to me before and told me what a good horse we’ve got, but I think the penny’s only dropped tonight how good he is.”

Hazel, who grows snowpeas at Sunnycliffs, south of Mildura, shared an interest in gallopers with his late dad Les, who “trained a few pacers before I was born”.

“I just bought him for something to do on a Friday, to get away from the block and I’m a bit dumbfounded that he’s turned out this good!” Hazel said.

“Dad passed away with MND (Motor Neurone Disease) six years ago and the horses were our thing together.  Dad always wanted to have horses, so I just thought I’d buy one – and it turned out to be Jimmy,” he said.

“Scott Whitten, at Tumby Park, who sold him to me, said the horse just needed some time – he wanted to run faster than his legs would let him. So we had a few dramas early days in that the slower he went the worse he paced, and because of that he never had a two-year-old prep, really.”

Our Ultimate Jimmy made his debut as a three-year-old, and Hazel said his horse’s first start is the only one he’d ever missed.

“I got meningitis in the middle of July. I spent 13 days in hospital and was lucky to come out of it.  But since then, I’ve followed him everywhere, to Melton, Globe Derby, Charlton, everywhere, and I go out and give Andrew a hand as well.  I’m loving it,” he said.

The Marg and Paddy Lee-trained Isthjustfantasy ran on well for second, while Forty Love (Aaron Dunn) was tough in third after sitting parked in the quick time.

If the opener belonged to the locals, the second heat centred squarely on the return of star pacer Fox Dan – but the script didn’t quite roll out as expected.

Resuming since his Victoria Derby triumph in October, Fox Dan, the 2025 Eureka runner up worked forward from his wide draw before finding the front and was able to dictate.

The tempo was modest early – a 33-second first quarter – and the race was run largely on driver Ryan Sanderson’s terms, with Captain Perfect moving to the death seat at the 1400m and Jilliby Nitro enjoying the one-out, one-back trail.

Fox Dan travelled strongly and sprinted home in 57.2 seconds, but the four-year-old had to dig deep to hold off Captain Perfect (a head) and Jilliby Nitro a half-neck away in third.

The mile rate of 2:00.6 told the story of a race run at a controlled tempo, and while Fox Dan justified his $1.30 favouritism, it may have been far from the dominant display many expected.

Connections will no doubt take comfort from the fact the job was done, qualification is secured, and the entire will strip fitter in Saturday’s final.

The first five from each heat qualified (Heat 1: My Ultimate Jimmy; Isthisjustfantasy; Forty Love; Prioritise; Powers of Persuasion) (Heat 2: Fox Dan; Captain Perfect; Jilliby Nitro; Santa Casa Beach; Shadow Celt) and the Shane Sanderson-trained Dangerous is expected to scrape into the decider as the fastest sixth across the two heats.

Fields will be released for Saturday night’s CA Fitness Mildura Pacing Cup meeting at 11.30 Wednesday morning (April 8).