Leigh Sutton was almost star-struck after his drive, Like A Wildfire, reinforced his top speed brilliance with a stunning romp home in tonight’s Terang Co-Op Pacing Cup.
“He’s a superstar,” the reinsman told TrotsVision after the Emma Stewart trained seven-year-old produced his 17th victory in only his 46th start, claiming the coveted $50,000 Group 2 amid a terrific night’s trots at Terang.
“I don’t get the opportunity to drive a horse this good. He’s a Grand Circuit horse this horse. I’m sure of it.”
Sutton was speaking in the shadows of the Trots Country Cups Championship win, which looked to be going largely to expectations until the final 1200 metres when a mid-race challenge set the Cup alight.
Demon Delight held the lead with Tango Tara on his outside and Highway To Heaven the only horse behind him on the pegs, with the remainder of the field choosing to stagger in the running line.
That was until Rackemup Tigerpie threatened to move three-wide, which instigated a snowball affect that would see Chris Alford advance on Willie Go West from the one-one.
Alford rounded breeze horse Tango Tara and unsuccessfully challenged Demon Delight for the lead, an uptick in tempo that prompted Sutton to sweep to the pegs for the sprint home.
It would prove a winning move, with Like A Wildfire using the short-cut to beat Phoenix Prince on the line by a neck, with Highway To Heaven a close third.
“It’s a bit different driving this horse,” Sutton said. “Every time I sit behind him I just think of (his former trainer-driver the late) Gavin (Lang) and I idolised the man and he was so great to me when I was growing up.”
And, fittingly, it was a Lang-style winning drive tonight.
“(Like A Wildfire’s) just awesome, it’s hard to explain, because he can just stay as well. When they turned it on at the 1200, I was just cheering them on saying let’s go, because I’ve got the fence here.
“(He’s) so fast, I didn’t get out till 100 metres and I still beat them. He’s just a star, he’s awesome to drive, he’s an old gentleman.”
Sutton may soon get his Grand Circuit wishes realised, with Like A Wildfire expected to make a tilt at the forthcoming Miracle Mile.
“It’s hard to say you are as good as King (Of Swing) and them, but look he’s fast and he’s just gone super. Good milers are great stayers as well. If they went hard they’d know they were in a race with him.”
The re-education of Cuchulainn was tonight rewarded for trainer-driver Chris Svanosio and owner Merv Butterworth, with the former Kiwi trotter enjoying an Australian big race breakthrough.
The lightly raced Skyvalley gelding was having the 11th start of his first Victorian campaign and captured the South West Conveyancing Terang Trotters Cup with a commanding front-running performance.
Well versed from standing starts in his country of birth, it was the first time Cuchulainn had seen the tapes this side of the Tasman and it proved a winning formula for Svanosio.
“He seems like a pretty strong horse, but since I’ve had him here in Australia I haven’t had a really good chance to show it, just how it’s worked with the mobile racing,” Svanosio said.
“This was his first try from the standing start for me, but he did have pretty strong standing start form in New Zealand. I was hoping I could be out in front and give them something to chase and he certainly did.
“Once I was able to get him away he cruised along in front, handled it beautifully and was pretty strong in the finish.”
With warhorse The Penny Drops on his outside for much of the running, Svanosio was able to control the tempo in front, stretching out with a 28.6sec third quarter and then able to hold off all challengers in a 29sec final quarter.
Havehorsewilltravel finished the best, emerging from The Penny Drops back to claim second, just a length shy of the winner.
It was the second time in three years that Svanosio’s captured the cup, having scored with Magicool in 2020.
“It was my home town for a few years down here,” he said. “Had a great time, it’s terrific to be able to come back and win the trotters cup again.
“We haven’t really got to the bottom of (Cuchulainn) since he’s been there. Merv Butterworth owns him, he’s put no pressure on me at all since we’ve had him.
“We haven’t got any massive plans, but this is his first preparation since he’s been in Australia. He hasn’t had a lot of racing, I think he only had 20 starts when he came over, we’re hoping he can keep measuring up to these country cups and races at Melton.”
The night kicked off with a breakthrough for driver and horse as Denbeigh Wade notched up her 100th win and a challenging horse rewarded his stable’s faith with a well deserved win.
Only two nights after Balmy Bob brought up her 99th salute in the first at Swan Hill, Wade got things rolling tonight with Mymatethomo bringing up her ton in her 1372nd career drive.
“It was my 100th, (trainer and partner) Michael (Gadsden) put the mozz on me about two months ago and said ‘you’re nearing the 100’ and I said ‘good on you, I’m never going to get there now’,” Wade told TrotsVision.
The result was all the more rewarding because it was produced on Mymatethomo, an eight-year-old having just his second start since March 2020 after injury struck.
“The poor little guy had a keratoma in his hoof, which is a cancer, and I believe they had to remove quite a fair bit of hoof to get rid of it all, so he had a good six to eight months out,” Wade said.
“We’ve probably had him nearly 12 months, he’s been quite a tricky little project, Michael’s done a fantastic job to get him back to the races, let alone winning second up.”
Gun reinsman Josh Dickie joined host Nikkita Ross, fellow driver Stuart McDonald and Luke Humphreys on tonight’s TrotsVision team and quickly made an impression.
Having only recently relocated from New Zealand to Victoria, Dickie was making his TrotsVision debut and quickly rewarded any viewers who were backing his tips.
“I’m a big fan of this horse, I think one of the value bets of the night,” Dickie said ahead of the Goodtime Lodge Pace. “He’s 12-1 I think, you can not fault this horse’s form, he’s getting better and better.”
And the Anthony Spiteri runner quickly rewarded Dickie’s faith in the hands of reinsman Michael Bellman, emerging from the running line to power past the leaders and win by almost eight metres for a third straight victory.
It was another feelgood story in the Neville & Patsy Clarke Memorial Trot, with the talented Dont Care returning from a lengthy spell to dominate in a near track record-breaking win.
The four-year-old scored by 15 metres for trainer Kate Hargreaves, driver Ellen Tormey and a big group of owners, many of whom were on course.
Among them was Darren Carroll, who shared with TrotsVision how the Australasian Premier Trotting Sale purchase had already left a big imprint on Terang.
Resilience and patience was rewarded in the last race of the night with trainer-driver Geoff Webster holding off Radius to score in the Wheelie Waste Pace.
The victory by a neck was Stingray Tara’s first since April 5 last year, having raced 28 times since that Hamilton win.
Victories were also forthcoming for Andy and Kate Gath’s recent arrival Vintage Cheddar in his $20,000 Pat Bellman Memorial Pace, while Brooke Wilkins’ Celestial Fragrance claimed the Morsebearings Dalvui Dominator Pace in the hands of reinsman Connor Clarke.
