The Jacks will launch a double-pronged attack on the $100,000 Gold Bracelet final for three-year-old fillies with Just Hope and Captains Queen and are also chasing the $110,000 Gold Tiara two-year-old fillies final with Treasure Stride.
Just Hope, who won the Gold Tiara last year and recently added the NSW Oaks to her resume, produced a blistering heat win on Monday with a 1:52.5 mile-rate for the 1730m trip.
She has to overcome a barrier seven draw off the front tonight, but still looks the one to beat.
The two fillies who chased her home in her heat, Soho Rhapsody and Silk Cloud, appear her main dangers again.
Captains Queen, who will be driven by NSW reinsman Bernie Hewitt, has drawn the pole, but her heat win was a whopping seven seconds slower than Just Hope’s time.
The Jacks also have Treasure Stride tackling the $110,000 Gold Tiara final after a runaway heat win in her race debut on Monday.
Treasure Stride was the quickest of the heat winners, but has landed the awkward barrier seven draw.
Stop, Hammer time
Talented Avenel-trained trotter Hes A Hammer completed a hat-trick of wins when he claimed the $50,000 Vicbred Classic final for three-year-old trotting colts and geldings at Melton on Saturday night.
Driven by Josh Dickie, the David Aiken-prepared Hes A Hammer tracked the Finley-owned and bred Hephaestus Phoenix, who made the pace, in the run and got home along the sprint lane to beat that trotter.
The other feature at the meeting, the $50,000 Group Two Melton Plate, was another big race win for Shepparton trainer Russell Jack.
He produced Hi Manameisjeff, who was driven by Mark Pitt, for a pillar-to-post victory to hoist his name among some illustrious previous winners of the race.
Turnbull’s Tassie glory
Former Kiwi pacer Hiranya claimed the $40,000 Tasmanian Derby for Tatura north trainer Craig Turnbull in Hobart on Saturday night.
Having won impressively on his Australian debut at Shepparton on March 8, the son of Bettors Delight, driven by the trainer’s daughter Abbey, led from pillar to post over the 2579m trip to get the verdict by a short half-head from District Attorney with another of the Turnbull runners, National News, driven by Brad Chisholm 4.7m astern in third place.
Hiranya had 11 starts for two wins, three seconds and a third in New Zealand before joining the Turnbull stable.
