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Cranbourne trainer-driver Scott Ewen is hoping his star pacer Bulletproof Boy can break through for his first Group 1 success when he lines up in the DECRON Cranbourne Pacing Cup on Saturday.
A winner of 32 races and over $364,000 in prize money, Ewen says Bulletproof Boy is clearly the best horse he’s trained.
He’s twice won at Group 2 grade and contested many other feature finals, but a win at the sport’s highest level has so far proven elusive.
“He’s one of those that doesn’t win out of turn,” said Ewen.
“But (leading trainer) Andy Gath said it once – he can beat anything with the right run. You go out there knowing if you get any luck you’re a hope. Even when there’s odds about him, he’s still a chance with the right run.”
Bulletproof Boy’s emergence as one of the state’s premier pacers was one of the major reasons for Ewen relocating from South Australia to Cranbourne in September 2019.
An approach from Cranbourne chairman David Scott to take up stalls at the burgeoning training complex came at an ideal time for Ewen, who was contemplating his future in the sport when the two met at the Mildura Cup carnival.
“I may have given up all together back in Adelaide if I didn’t have him,” Ewen explained.
“I’d cut right down and got another job, and he was the only thing that kept me in the game. We’d just sold our property when I saw David at the Mildura Cup. Bullet was starting to hit his mark and I was starting to travel with him, looking for races to go to.
“I didn’t want to send him anywhere else, so we made the move and when you have a horse like him to move with it’s a bonus because it can put you on the map.
“It’s definitely opened opportunities – I’ve got some new owners and new horses, so it’s done me well.”
The Cranbourne Harness Racing Club recently announced an increase in prizemoney for its pacing cup, which is now worth $100,000. The boost has elevated it back to its former status of a Group 1 event. The trotters’ cup has also been given a stakes increase to $50,000, which means it is now run at the elite level.
“It’d be great to win a Group 1 for sure, that’s my aim. But to win my hometown cup would be great as well because I think it’s been a long time since someone from here has won it,” Ewen said.
