Chris Alford's Down Under Muscles is favourite for the Vicbred 3YO Trotters Final
Down Under Muscles is Chris Alford's best shot at training his maiden Group 1 winner, but he isn't the champion horseman's only hope in tonight's $50,000 Vicbred Super Series 3YO Trotters Final at Moonee Valley.
The six-time Australian driving champion puts the polish on another finalist, capable Sundon gelding Our Aythreeeighty, who will be driven by legendary reinsman Brian Gath.
While Down Under Muscles is the more favoured of the Alford-trained pair, he will start from outside the back row on account of being out of the draw.
Our Aythreeeighty has the much more favourable starting position of gate two.
"Down Under Muscles is out of the draw, so he was always going to draw poorly, but the other one has drawn nicely even though he needs to improve a bit (to be a winning chance)," Bolinda-based Alford said.
Our Aythreeeighty, who didn't debut until March 5, has won once and been placed at three of his six starts. He ran third, beaten just over three metres by Onlyonewoman, in his heat at Maryborough a week ago.
The gelding is an $11 chance in TAB Sportsbet's fixed odds market on the 2100m feature.
Down Under Muscles, a half-brother to former champion squaregaiter A Touch Of Flair, has already been backed from $4.20 into $2.60 despite drawing barrier 12.
He has been beaten at a short quote in the three feature events he has contested in his eight-start career and while Alford said he is not yet at peak fitness he thinks his class will carry him a long way.
"He's still probably a little bit underdone," he said. "He went into last week about 70 percent and he'll improve on the run."
Down Under Muscles heads the market from Conaroyal ($4.60, barrier eight) with APG winner Let Me Thru (seven) at $6 and Singing Creek (10) and Sassy Pinevale (five) sharing the $7 line.
Along with dual representation in the trotting feature, Alford is also represented in tonight's other Group 1 Vicbred final; the $100,000 four-year-old mares decider.
The Alford-trained-and-driven Howards Dilemma was an upset winner of her semi final last week and she is well in the market at $4.80 after coming up with barrier one.
"I'll be happy if we can win one of them," Alford said of his aspirations going into the night. "It would be a bonus if we could win them both."
