Chris Alford was a force to be reckoned with on VHRSC Victoria Derby heats night.
The headline act going into the VHRSC Victoria Derby heats was Guaranteed and he didn’t disappoint anyone with a dominant display ensuring he will retain overall favouritism for the final to be run next week at Tabcorp Park.
The challengers came thick and fast on a stellar night of racing which belonged to Chris Alford in a brilliant driving display.
He managed to win all three heats giving him the choice of who he would want to drive in the final.
Talking to Rob Auber post-race he joked about the chances of it happening in the lead up but declared he would most likely have to stick with Guaranteed.
The first heat was taken out by Lennytheshark, who was conquered by Flaming Flutter in the South Australian Derby last start but had the advantage of the front line draw which proved vital in the finish.
“He did go super, he came out alright but worked around strong to get to the front. He was a bit laid back when he got to the front, he pricked his ears but when I asked him at the top of the straight he let down well,” Alford said.
“In time he’ll end up coming out pretty quick, he was pretty good tonight. I wasn’t too sure when the horses from Sydney come you aren’t too sure but the important thing was to be up near the front and qualify tonight.
“I thought I had the other ones struggling half way round the bend but I thought they would get pretty close for a while.”
Those chasing him were Ee And Em Stride, who had the trail, and Flaming Flutter who found the death seat in the last lap. Timeseel ran on fairly but was well beaten by the favoured trifecta.
Lennytheshark led and dictated early but quickened nicely to run his last half in 55.6 with the last quarter coming in 26.9. The mile rate was recorded as 1:55.9.
In the second heat Guaranteed gave punters a minor pulmonary when he was crossed early. Alford was up to the challenge, quickly pulling his charge off the pegs to reclaim the lead.
It became much of a procession from there on in, with Ginger Bliss and Caesar Augustus taking marginal ground off him late after racing on the pace. The margins were noted at over eight-metres with another two-metres back to third.
Goodtime Slater held down fourth from Modern Max, who threw in a protest with an automatic position in the VHRSC Victoria Derby up for grabs.
It was quickly dismissed however and Goodtime Slater became the Emma Stewart team’s third qualifier.
The mile-rate was completed in 1:56.2 with a last half in 55.8 and a last quarter comparable to Lennytheshark of 26.9.
In the last heat Macha lived up to Dean Braun’s spruik on the three-year-old after a brilliant drive by Chris Alford to cap his hat-trick of heat wins.
“He did a great job at only his third start, Dean has always thought he is really, really good and tonight he measured up with the best,” Alford said.
“We had three options, we could go forward or drop back or make a run in the middle I was just lucky I chose to go forward.
“Dean’s always said since they brought him he was going to be top class, when you have confidence in the horse you can drive him like that.
“I wasn’t overly excited with Hamilton, I thought he should have won better but he wasn’t 100% there, Dean was confident he would measure up tonight and he was right.”
Alford also noted that Macha would have enough gate speed to hold a position if he drew the front row in the final.
Kiwi trio Bit Of A Legend, Ohoka Punter and Arden Rooney rounded out the first four to all automatically qualify for the final.
The last heat was run in a mile rate of 1:56 flat. The last half was completed in the slowest of the three heats in 56.9 mostly owing to the early speed in the race with plenty of tactical moves.
The other highlight on the night was the Scandalman pace, which was ironically taken out by his rival Smolda in convincing fashion.
His trainer/driver Mark Purdon spoke to Rob Auber following the race about having to get Smolda right after a last start failure.
“He got around at the right time but he’s a great stayer when he’s right. Tonight he probably needed the run but he’s a lovely horse,” Purdon said.
“He just wasn’t right on the night (last time), he had a mild respiratory infection. He was meeting the best and you need to be 100% when you meet that class.
“We will possibly bring him back on Hunter Cup night and race him in his class then the heats of Chariots Of Fire.”
All roads now lead to next Saturday night February 2 where all the big guns will be at Tabcorp Park Melton for Del-Re National food Group A G Hunter Cup night.
