03 December 2021 | Duncan Dornauf for Tasracing
After scoring at a triple-figure quote in the Danbury Park Cup, Gotta Good Reason will be chasing another feature race win in Saturday weeks Rare Earth Tassie Golden Apple at Group 3 level.
But to get there, the Mark Reggett prepared pacer must go through the process of qualifying in one of two heats in Launceston on Friday night.
The gelded son of For A Reason was stepping out for the first time since joining the Mark Regget stable in the Danbury Park Cup on 21 November, where he led all the way for an upset over the 2698-metre trip, and while the win was a surprise to most, it wasn’t to the pacers trainer.
“I thought he was working well at home and I believe in those races if you jump on top you have to keep running in those races. Otherwise, you let those good horses off the handicaps into the race,” said Reggett.
The pacer arrived in Reggett’s care at the start of his preparation, where he pre-trained the pacer for his previous trainer Mark Yole before he decided to give the pacer a change of scenery and moving back into Regget’s care proved successful for the Danbury Park Cup, and the current trainer is happy with how the pacer has come through the run.
“He has come on from that run. He galloped well on Tuesday, so I’m happy going into the race,” added the Brighton based trainer.
Gotta Good Reason will contest the opening heat of the Tassie Golden Apple, which is a heat of intrigue.
None more so than the Rohan Hillier-trained and driven three-year-old Montana Storm, an impressive last start winner and jumps into his toughest test to date, up against his proven stablemates Ryley Major and Lip Reader, who both share the 30-metre back mark.
“Hopefully it plays into his hands, but you have to be wary of those other ones still. They are proven, they get away well, and the 2200 (metres) might play into their hands,” explained Reggett.
The trainer will let the Golden Apple series determine what races he targets during the Tasmanian Summer Of Racing Carnival, with several Group and Listed races on the horizon, plus several $14,000 Country Cups getting underway soon.
“I will let the Golden Apple be the guide. If he is competitive in that he can go to the better races. If not I will look at the St Mary’s Cup and those sort of races,” Reggett said.
Heat two of the Tassie Golden Apple features two Victorian prepared runners, including the John Nicholson prepared Bullys Delight, who was first past the post in the Tasmania Cup, and the Alex Ashwood prepared Wow You Can Dance, who was an impressive Melton winner at his last outing and proved too strong for his trotting rivals in a Bendigo trial on Monday night.
The Launceston card also features the first three heats of the 6ty Youngbloods Challenge.
Races three and four will be shown on Sky Racing 1, with the remainder of the card on Sky Racing 2.
TasracingTV will telecast all races, with the first race set down for 18:24.
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