Hurricane Harley (pictured right, by Stuart McCormick) is favourite pre-draw with TAB for next Saturday night’s Group 1 Downbytheseaside Victoria Derby following the heats tonight at Ballarat.
Trainer Emma Stewart’s reigning Breeders Crown champ was completely untroubled around Bray Raceway, his 2.6-metre win not a wholly accurate depiction of his dominance.
Driver Amanda Turnbull didn’t need to move aboard the powerful son of Bettors Delight in the home straight, Hurricane Harley striding out with the swagger and authority of a champion wrestler inside the final furlong.
Hurricane Harley rated 1:56.8 and covered his last 800m in 56.5 (27.1 last split).
Stablemate Hardhitter ran second, with Malcolms Rhythm third.
It was a familiar tale in the second Derby heat as the All Stars’ team of Natalie Rasmussen and Mark Purdon produced Im Another Masterpiece for victory (pictured right, by Stuart McCormick).
Rasmussen’s drive was worthy of a headline. It was a masterclass performance aboard the son of Bettors Delight.
After handing up early to Lauren Tritton aboard Muscle Factory, Rasmussen camped behind the leader until the bell when she shimmied into the clear to breeze the last lap.
The move posted a key rival Centenario, advancing three-wide, on a limb for the final kilometre and secured Lochinvar Art one-one cover.
“You don’t come all this way to be unlucky,” Rasmussen said.
“You have to run top-three and I wasn’t going to run a nice hard-held fourth on the fence.
“(It was a) Nice win for him and the run should tighten him up a little bit more.”
Im Another Masterpiece finished 2.9m clear of Muscle Factory in 1:55.9.
David Aiken trained and driven Max Delight (pictured right, by Stuart McCormick) made it a Bettors Delight Derby heats clean sweep, taking out the final qualifier courtesy of a controlled front-running steer.
“He’s a nice horse on the way up and he’s got great speed. It’ll be a different story next week, but we really like him and wouldn’t swap him for a few in the race,” Aiken said.
“He’s fast. His A to B speed is really quick but he doesn’t have to lead, he can come off cover and sprint really well.”
Max Delight’s winning mile rate was the slowest of the night at 2:00.4, but his last 400m (26.5) was electric.
The top four finishers in each Derby heat qualify for the final, with Demon Delight (fastest fifth) the emergency.
Results
Downbytheseaside Victoria Derby (1st Heat)
1st: Hurricane Harley Emma Stewart Amanda Turnbull
2nd: Hardhitter Emma Stewart Chris Alford
3rd: Malcolms Rhythm David Aiken Kima Frenning
4th: Arggghhh Craig Demmler Craig Demmler
5th: Our Millionaire Emma Stewart Sidney Van Den Brande
MR: 1:56.8
Downbytheseaside Victoria Derby (2nd Heat)
1st: Im Another Masterpiece Mark Purdon, Natalie Rasmussen Natalie Rasmussen
2nd: Muscle Factory Shane Tritton, Lauren Tritton Lauren Tritton
3rd: Lochinvar Art Laura Crossland David Moran
4th: Crime Writer Matthew Craven Matthew Craven
5th: Demon Delight Emma Stewart Gavin Lang
MR: 1:55.9
Downbytheseaside Victoria Derby (3rd Heat)
1st: Max Delight David Aiken David Aiken
2nd: Perfect Major Emma Stewart Amanda Turnbull
3rd: Petes Big Jim Shane Tritton, Lauren Tritton Lauren Tritton
4th: War Dan Delight Dean Braun Greg Sugars
5th: Supreme Dominator Barry Purdon Mark Purdon
MR: 2:00.4