Connections have decided to bypass the 2025 Queensland Inter Dominion carnival with one of Victoria’s most popular pacers, Bulletproof Boy.
Trainer-driver Scott Ewen was disappointed with the 10-year-old’s last-start effort at Melton Entertainment Park on Saturday night when he led comfortably and faded late to be beaten 4.8m into fifth.
As a result, Ewen has cancelled a planned trip north and sent the son of Art Official for a spell.
“He’s just not on top of his game,” Ewen said.
“He’s been in since February last year. I decided after he’d won all those big races that we’d go to the Inter Dominion. We tried to freshen him up, and one of his runs back wasn’t too bad when he burnt hard to get the front and got rolled.
“We just put it down to fitness, but I don’t think it was. I just don’t think he’s got his heart in it at the minute. We will turn him out for six weeks and start again.”
Bulletproof Boy had an incredible start to season 2025 with victories in the Bendigo and Ballarat cups and claimed the City of Melton Stampede as his 47th career win in March.
“It’s very disappointing,” Ewen said. “We’d just finalised all of our arrangements and hotels, but it’s just not worth going when you’re not 100 per cent because you’ve got to be to be competitive with those horses.”
Bulletproof Boy was rated a $101 chance for the Inter Dominion Pacing Championship Grand Final behind outright favourite Leap To Fame ($1.30).
The first round of Inter Dominion heats are set for July 5 at Albion Park.