Kate and Andy Gath with new Melton track record holder Elegant Image.
The Andy Gath stable looks set for a scorching summer if Friday night’s feature race double at Tabcorp Park Melton is any indication.
The Long Forest horseman produced star trotter Elegant Image to win – and set a new track record – first-up in the Maori’s Idol Trotters Free-for-All and also enjoyed success with gritty former Kiwi Maximan, who showed enormous heart to win the Preux Chevalier Free-for-All.
“I’d say this is the best team of horses overall that I’ve trained,” Gath said.
“We’ve got a lot of nice young ones and a real good mix of trotters and pacers.”
Maximan showed he was able to burn the candle at both ends in the Preux Chevalier, sprinting early for a lead time of 43.6 seconds to hold the lead before rallying hard in the home straight when challenged along the sprint lane.
Maximan went 57 seconds for his last 800m and clocked a mile rate of 1:55.5 to score a neck win over Cut For An Ace, who almost pinched the prize after a three-back-the-markers trip.
But when Maximan was challenged in the last 100m, reinswoman Kate Gath got another gear out of the gelded son of Armbro Operative/Clifton Beauty.
“I always had an inkling he had that in him – he’s such a fighter,” Andy Gath said.
“He’s getting gate speed now, which is something he didn’t have in New Zealand. He seems to be developing gate speed, which adds another string to his bow.”
Maximan has had three wins for three starts since joining Gath, who had known about the horse’s deeds in New Zealand for a while.
Gath got a call from an owner who asked him, “If you could get one horse from New Zealand, who would you want?” Gath responded: “Maximan”. The owner said, “I’ve just bought him” and sent him to Gath.
“We were on the same page,” Gath said.
Maximan is a talented stand-start horse but his three wins from three starts from the mobile gate since joining Gath has the trainer looking at all future race options.
The $30,045 Group 3 Lightning Mile at Ballarat is the next target for Maximan on Friday, October 3.
Despite Friday night’s win, Gath says Maximan still has to beat some of the big guns to be seen as a genuine top-liner.
“Without being harsh it wasn’t the greatest free-for-all field … he’s still got a fair few big guns to come back, but he just might be up to the task,” he said.
One horse already in the top bracket for sure is Elegant Image, Gath’s three-time Group 1 winning seven-year-old trotting son of S J’s Photo/Whitney Grace.
Elegant Image broke the Melton track record with a 1:55.2 victory in the Maori’s Idol Trotters Free-for-All.
From gate six, Elegant Image ran to the front early before holding out a mid-race challenge for the lead from $1.70 favourite My High Expectations.
With four sub-30-second quarters, Elegant Image romped to a 3.6-metre win over in-form El Paco, with Cold Sister running on for third.
“He goes terrific first-up but he surprised me a bit that he went out and broke the track record,” Gath said.
“He races a lot better than he works. He works nice, but he races elite.
“He’s always been a real nice horse. You don’t fluke three Group 1 wins, and he was a bit stiff not to have won four.”
Elegant Image will head to the Scotch Notch Memorial on Melton Plate night.
