Trots Centre: Look out! Andy's trotting guns start to return

Havehorsewilltravel went awfully close to registering the perfect first Australian preparation through late 2020 and early 2021, and is now back to kick-off what will be a flood of Andy Gath-trained squaregaiting stars returning to the races.

The former Kiwi won his first six Aussie starts before being spelled after his narrow second to Well Defined in the Ararat Trotters Cup during February.

A quality trial performance this week - when he beat top-end trotters Magicool, Always Ready and Im Ready Jet - has him primed and ready for action this Saturday night at Cranbourne's metropolitan meeting.

The five-year-old has drawn badly on the outside of the back row for the Aldebaran Park Trot and will need all of Kate Gath's brilliance to resume in winning fashion against a strong field of rivals.

"He's not much of a track worker so we were a bit surprised he trialled quite good and hit the line real good," Andy said.

"Obviously, he's done a really good job since he's been here and trialled well. He'll run a good race but the barrier draw around Cranbourne is crucial.

"It's just hard if you've got to come wide, you just lose ground. He'll run a good race, but he could run a good race and finish fifth or sixth.

"I'm always happy when in your first race start or your first trial you go well. It means you are going to have a good preparation, in my mind."

While he did win six of his first seven starts here in Australia, Gath suggested the horse "probably never went good" despite managing to get the job done on so many occasions.

"He knows how to win,” he said.

“He probably is going to have to step up again, but he's still relatively young for a trotter and hasn't had a lot of starts yet for a trotter, so there's opportunity there that he could still get better.”

Havehorsewilltravel was bought out of New Zealand by Gath’s long-time owner Norm Jenkin and landed on our shores with a record of four victories from 18 career starts. The son of Angus Hall’s form guide now reads 10 wins from 25 attempts with prizemoney in excess of $100,000.

Havehorsewilltravel's stablemate Majestuoso is bound for his return to the races at Geelong on Saturday, July 17, with McLovin being prepared for the Group 3 John Slack Memorial Trotters Cup on July 30 in Ballarat.

Majestuoso hasn’t raced since running third in the Group 1 The Knight Pistol in February, while McLovin has been off the scene following a runner-up effort in the Group 3 Scotch Notch Memorial in March.

A return date for champion Tornado Valley is not set in stone, but it will still be some time before the winner of $996,797 shoots for the magical million-dollar barrier in stakes.

Jason Bonnington and Nikkita Ross will headline the expansive Trots Vision coverage from Cranbourne on Saturday night alongside caller Luke Humphreys. The first of nine races kicks off from 5.05pm.