He felt so strong going down the back I just gave him a tap on the bum and went for home
- Driver Matthew Cooper
Oatlands trainer-driver Matthew Cooper continued a great run when his in-form pacer Call Me Hector set a state record in Hobart on Wednesday night.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The five-year-old flew out of barrier four in the Free-For-All to easily head off class pacer Star Chamber who had drawn the pole but had no answer to the winner's early speed.
Cooper allowed Call Me Hector to keep running all the way and they carved out the 1609m in 1:54.3 which was 0.2 seconds quicker than Ryley Major's old record set in June.
He scored by 6.4m from Star Chamber, who followed him all the way and battled on well at his first run after a spell. Blackbird Power was a further 6.8m away in third place.
Cooper has now won seven races with Call Me Hector since he arrived in the state in April.
"I just let him bowl - that's what he does best," the driver said.
"He can run 29-second quarters one after the other.
"He felt so strong going down the back I just gave him a tap on the bum and went for home.
"He's a strong horse with a good heart."
The winner was a well-backed $2.40 to $1.90 favourite.
EVERY WITCH WAY
Four wins from 98 starts is not a convincing strike-rate but it didn't stop punters rallying behind Witch Master in the Rating 30-49.
The Adrian Duggan trained eight-year-old firmed from $3.30 to $2.30 before sitting in the death for the last lap to land the plunge.
Witch Master won only once in 27 starts last season but, as driver Ricky Duggan pointed out, was well placed under the new national rating system.
"He's a funny bugger but it wasn't a strong lot and he did finish off pretty good at his previous start in better company," Duggan said.
HE'S THE BOSS
Punters were on target again in the Rating 50-54, identifying it as a two-horse race.
Boss Major ($3.40 to $2.60) sat in the death to beat the leader My Girl Pearl ($3.40 to $2.80) by a neck.
Conor Crook drove the winner for trainer Rohan Hillier who has now won three races with the gelding since he arrived from Victoria in May.
"He's a good little trier and once he found the front he was always going to be hard to beat," Hillier said. "It was a good effort."
The trainer was going for a race-to-race double with Prosecution Witness in the Rating 55-60 but the $1.55 pop was brought undone by a second-row draw.
Karpenkova Leis ($4.20 to $3.20) led from the pole and held out the favourite by a half neck.
Trainer-driver Todd Rattray said the winner was suited by the 1609m trip.
"She got on the bit over the longer distance last start and she's not real strong," Rattray said.
"But when she can get a good quarter in a mile race she should win."
Rattray said he would be talking to owner Trevor Leis about future plans for the five-year-old as "I think he might want to breed from her."
Rattray made it a race-to-race double with Bremusa in the Rating 61-69.
The $1.50 favourite was tested early but held the lead from the pole and was never in doubt from then on.
"I gave her a freshen up after her last run and she seemed a bit better in herself tonight," Rattray said.
"She felt good in the run, was strong to the line and will only improve off that."
LESNAR OVERCOME
Talented but troublesome galloper Lesnar found the occasion a bit much when he made his Victorian debut at Cranbourne on Wednesday.
Trainer Glenn Stevenson said the lightly-raced six-year-old got worked up and "just didn't cope with the situation.
"If I can get his ear muffs off and blinkers on, one day you will see a different horse," Stevenson said.
Lesnar, backed from $12 to $9.50, ran seventh to Oriental Lily in the $50,000 Benchmark 64 Handicap, beaten 6-1/2 lengths.
He settled in sixth place for Devonport jockey Daniel Ganderton but couldn't improve when the pressure came on.
MELBOURNE BYPASS
Trainer Scott Brunton has decided on a Sydney campaign for star four-year-old The Inevitable.
Brunton had considered running the gelding in Saturday's $500,000 group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.
But he has decided to wait for the $500,000 Silver Eagle (1300m) at Randwick on October 12.
A new addition to the calendar, the Silver Eagle is restricted to four-year-olds and is a lead-up to the $7.5 million Golden Eagle (1500m) at Rosehill on November 2 where The Inevitable is a $15 chance.
INDUCED COMA
Stephen Brown Jnr, who represented Victoria in the National Apprentice Series at Mowbray two years ago, was airlifted to hospital in an induced coma after a fall at the Wangaratta jumpouts on Wednesday morning.
No details on his condition were released.
Brown, 20, was recognised as the tallest jockey in Australia until he retired from race riding last November.
He is 188cm (just over 6 ft 2 in) yet managed to ride at 56kg and win 40 races.
He no longer holds a jockey's licence but is a registered track rider.
Brown had four rides at Mowbray on March 22, 2017, including two heats of the National Apprentice Series where he finished second on Schillie Billie and third on Taras Gem.