09 October 2023 | Duncan Dornauf for Tasracing
Halis Boy’s win surprised most when scoring at odds of $153.90 on the local tote in Hobart on Sunday night, but the win didn’t surprise the four-year-old gelding’s trainer Greg Scott in the Maiden event (2090m).
“A couple of people that help me were at the stables on Saturday morning, and I told them with any luck, they won’t beat him.
“If he had drawn two or three, I would have put more than I did on him,” said trainer Greg Scott post-race.
From a wide front row draw for driver Ricky Duggan, he restrained the gelding to the tail of the field, and the 19-start maiden was held up behind tiring runners around the home bend before Duggan got the pacer into the clear in the home straight to finish off best to score by a head over Areyawatchingthis ($4.60) and Imhooked ($21).
“His work has been good, and I trialled him the other week, and the horse that won the trial won last week.
“I reckon he gave them 50m in the trial, and he was taking ground off him to be beaten 21m,” Scott explained.
“He has always shown plenty of ability but never produced it on race day until last night.
“I have tried working him hard and it didn’t work out, so I have gone the other way and he has trialled well and won last night,” said Scott who also bred the pacer and owns him along with his partner Allanah Luttrell.
“If he didn’t do much last night, he was heading to King Island, but not now. He will stay for a bit longer.
“He is not going to be a world beater, but he will probably win another two or three races,” added the trainer.
In-form mare Whey Better ($3.20) continued on her winning way with a narrow victory in a rating 60 to 64 event.
After working forward to race outside the leader, the Mark Geeves-trained mare proved too tough late to record her fifth win for the season, closing in on $100,000 in prize money.
In the night’s open class race, the Ben Yole-trained Villacci ($2.40 fav) continued on his winning way with a 7.6m win over stablemates Check In ($18) and Puntarno Stride ($14).
Villacci has now won four of five starts since arriving in the state.
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