Mistressofillusion makes her debut for trainer Brett Cox at Tabcorp Park Melton tomorrow night.
The four-year-old mare has looked infallible this time in with three wins from three starts at Ballarat, Swan Hill and Terang.
Formerly trained by Cox’s training partner David Lewis, Mistressofillusion is expected to start near the top of the betting tables in the Gippsland Racing Training Centre Pace over 1720 metres.
Cox, 26, who has been training with Lewis for about four years, has spent time training horses in Sydney and was also previously based in the USA with top horseman Chris Ryder for 18 months.
“I’ve been doing it full-time my whole life,” he said.
“It’s been really good with Dave. He’s taking a bit of a step back while he builds his house and it’s a great opportunity to be able to train Mistressofillusion.
“When I first started there it was only a small but select team. We’re up to about the 14-horse mark now. To walk into a stable with horses the calibre of what Dave had was fantastic.
“It helps that he breeds his own. He’s very meticulous and has been a great mentor to me.”
Cox said Mistressofillusion had come a long way in her three campaigns to date.
The daughter of Jeremes Jet out of Whodyou Wantmetobe has racked up five wins and a second from 11 starts and displays a potent turn of foot.
“She’s one of the quickest horses I’ve got behind,” Cox said.
“We’re not sure how good she is yet. After Friday night she’ll probably go to the paddock for a month then we’ll return her for the Vicbred Mares Sprint Championship and then hopefully the Vicbred Super Series.
“She’s been a late maturing horse. She’s quirky and has a real mind of her own. She’s very quick and she’s getting stronger. She’ll hopefully keep on getting stronger.”
Mistressofillusion savaged the line at Terang winning on November 2 over a mile, coming from last at the 400m to score by 2.1m over Dam Lucky in a rate of 1:58.3, her last quarter clocked in the low 27s.
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