Mister Castleton streets his rivals in the Tatlow Stakes
Emerging reinswoman Ellen Tormey might not be as well known as Chris Alford or Gavin Lang, but she’ll also get a shot at rewriting the Tabcorp Australasian Breeders Crown record books this Sunday.
Tormey, who celebrated her 19th birthday on August 6, will become the youngest driver to secure a Breeders Crown title if successful aboard Mister Castleton in the 2YO Trotters Final (2240m) at Melton’s Tabcorp Park.
She would take almost two years off the existing record of 21 years and 10 months, set by Greg Sugars when he combined with My Missindependent to win the same division three years ago.
The former Pony Trot star wasn’t aware that she had history at her fingertips, but she is just happy to be a part of her first Breeders Crown finals day with a horse trained by her father John.
“This is my first drive in one (final) and dad’s first runner,” said Tormey, a winner of 19 races. “Just to have a horse good enough to compete in the Breeders Crown is awesome.
“We have been looking forward to it for a while with him, but there was a stage there where we weren’t sure if he’d make it, so we just hope that he’s right there in contention on Sunday.”
On his best behaviour the son of Earl will give the $93,000 Group 1 event a shake. TAB Sportsbet is keeping him safe at $5.50, behind only Kiwis Landoras Pearl ($2.60) and Tuhimata Glass ($3.60) and Rostevarren ($4.75).
Mister Castleton burst back into Breeders Crown contention with a dominant heat win at Maryborough. He broke twice in the run, but got down quickly both times and round up his rivals for a breathtaking 21-metre win.
It was his best performance since making it four-straight wins to start his career in the Group 2 Tatlow Stakes at Moonee Valley on June 12 and was a load off Tormey’s mind.
“After the Tatlow he had a bit of a paddock mishap and we’ve only just figured out what was wrong with him,” she said. “Dad’s been working on him to get him ready for this series.
“His behaviour still wasn’t the best in his heat, but the way he won showed he’s nearly back to his best and he was still travelling fairly comfortably at the end, so hopefully he performs like that on Sunday.”
The 2YO Trotters Final kicks off Sunday’s 10-event, $1.55 million raceday at 12.10pm.
