Should all go according to plan, astute horseman Paul Tonkin will have ‘one hell of a story’ to tell tonight.
Tonkin has four runners engaged at Warragul’s flagship meeting, including a pair in the Pacing Cup heats.
In a true test for man and beast, contenders will tackle a qualifier at the beginning of the card before backing up in the Final in the last event of the afternoon.
As wild a dream as it may seem, Tonkin’s stated a perfect result, giving a great yarn, would be Hellovastory and Longtan Viper filling the quinella in the provincial feature.
“That would certainly be the ideal result,” Tonkin said. “For now though, I’ll just worry about getting them through the heats and into the Final.
“Neither of mine have drawn well in the heats because of the preferential conditions, but the saving point is the Final is a random barrier draw, so hopefully they have a chance to draw better in that.”
To be driven by Ellen Tormey, Hellovastory will begin from the inside of the second row, which is likely to result in the son of Sportswriter being eased to the tail of the field.
“It’s not a good draw and he’ll probably have to go back to last and go around them,” Tonkin said. “Coming with one dip at them and hoping he makes it into the Final is likely the way to go.
“He’s got an amazing little sprint on him, he’s just so quick, so with a bit of luck he can cover the first step, which is qualifying.”
Longtan Viper will also be partnered by Tormey, with the son of Tinted Cloud to come from four in the second heat.
“Viper has been doing it tough in every start, so I’m hoping he can get a quieter run in the heat at least,” Tonkin said. “I certainly don’t want to cook them as they’ve got to race later in the day.
“It’s not the best draw for him either as the concern is he will be caught wide early.”
Elsewhere on the program, Tonkin will be represented by Hold On Forever, which will make her debut for the 64-year-old trainer.
Hold On Forever scored in Cranbourne on May 17 in what was his last start for Dean Braun.
“I’ve had him for less than a fortnight, but he is a lovely little horse to handle,” Tonkin said. “I already had the others nominated, so I figured I’d take him to have a look.
“I guess we’ll see how we get along with him tomorrow.”
Hellovatime rounds out Tonkin’s team from barrier five in a heat of a series for pacers which are yet to win a race worth $15,000 or more.
A $20,000 Final is scheduled for Melton on June 30.
“He will find it tough as he is racing out of his grade due to the system,” Tonkin said. “He recently ran second in a race with certain conditions, which means he gained a point and was tipped up in class despite not winning.
“We’ll just have to see how things work out for him.”
