Some of the nation’s most promising two-year-olds will be exposed to Tabcorp Park Melton’s bright lights Friday night, when much will be learned.
Four Australian Pacing Gold heats for colts and geldings will be held Friday ahead of the April 16 semi-finals and $322,000 final on April 22, which will all be staged at Melton.
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Across the four heats graduates from the APG yearling sales will kickstart their campaigns in the Southern Hemisphere’s richest sales series and bonus scheme for two-year-olds.
Leading driver Greg Sugars, who will take the reins of highly fancied The Storm Inside and first-starter Manly Mach on Friday, said it was a great opportunity for owners to get early reward on their investment.
“This is one of the main races on the two-year-old calendar,” Sugars said.
“It’s too early for a lot of the horses to be running at this level. For those that are advanced it gives them a really good chance to bankroll a bit of cash early in their careers.”
Few fit that bill as much as The Storm Inside, Emma Stewart’s two-year-old by Rocknroll Hanover out of Spirited Storm, who Sugars will steer in the night’s fourth and final heat, race 11 on the card.
Unbeaten in his three starts, the colt tasted Group 2 success in the Rod Fitzpatrick Memorial at Menangle on February 20 that delivered much of his $47,145 in stakes.
“He has obviously been very impressive to date,” Sugars said. “He is a long-gaited horse who has speed and feels pretty strong. He feels above average for a two-year-old. He’s very fast and has got great manners, but he hasn’t been fully tested yet.”
The Storm Inside’s resume includes outpacing stablemate Our Little General by 8.5m in the Swift Signs Premiere Stakes at Melton on Del-Re National A. G. Hunter Cup night, formidable form given Our Little General is unbeaten since.
They are drawn in different heats on Friday, with The Storm Inside to start from barrier three in the 11th and final heat.
“He is drawn well and with gate speed he should find the front. From there he looks to be the one to beat,” Sugars said. “The horse has a big future. He ticks all the boxes and is not lacking in any area.”
Other two-year-olds to carry strong claims are Geoff Webster’s smart pair Wrappers Delight (heat one) and Misterfreeze (heat two), which will clash with Andy Gath’s colts Macchiato and None Bettor in their respective heats.
Gath told RSN’s Gait Speed both his entries were “very nice horses” who were bound for “very nice careers”.
“Every time (None Bettor) has trialled at Melton he has performed really well, but when I take him away from Melton (to) Bendigo and Charlton he has sort of star gazed and hasn’t been quite as switched on. As we saw (Monday at Charlton) he was probably lucky to get away with the win. He was a bit lazy but he was still strong on the line. He will be better for that run.
“Macchiato is a lovely little horse who is getting better all the time. He is still a little bit green in his races, gets a bit rough on the bends which holds him back a little bit. He is a half-brother to Dont Hold Back, and we all know how good he is. So there is an opportunity there that he is going to be very good down the track.”
Gath said they were both capable of qualifying for the final, “whether they are capable of winning it time will tell”.
Following the heats two semi-finals will be conducted for each sex, comprising of up to 10 starters plus emergencies. They will include the winners of each heats, with placegetters advancing depending on available positions. Heats will be held at Melton, Menangle and Albion Park.
Victorian heats for the fillies will be on April 8 at Tabcorp Park Melton, with the semi-final (April 23) and final (April 30) to follow at Menangle.
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