High Gait in top flight takes out the Victoria Trotters Oaks in June for Chris Alford.
Three horses will don the Breckon Farms dark brown ‘B’ silks at TAB Breeders Crown Super Sunday.
A pacer named Partyon, undefeated in four starts from the all-conquering Mark Purdon camp, is the favourite to win the Alabar 2YO Pacing Fillies Final, while two impeccably bred trotting fillies – sisters in fact – prepared by Nicole Molander will carry the colours in the two and three-year-old ranks.
Astute Riddells Creek trainer Molander has set High Gait and Our Regal Love for grand final day, reigning Breeders Crown champ High Gait (trained by Purdon when she won the series as a two-year-old) a $3 second-favourite to win the Haras Des Trotteurs 3YO fillies’ trotting Crown, while Redwood Classic placegetter Our Regal Love is $2.30 favourite to collect the silverware in the Aldebaran Park 2YO fillies’ section.
“It’s a huge thrill. We’re really looking forward to it and hopefully they both put their best foot forward on Sunday,” Molander said.
High Gait bumps into this year’s Victoria Derby winner Wilmas Mate in her final, TAB.com.au installing the Paul Nairn-trained Pegasus Spur filly a $1.40 favourite in the opening race of the day at 1.26pm.
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High Gait is the clear second pick with the bookies, but Molander is far from settling for second best.
“She made up a heap of ground and had to work three-wide early and then when Wilmas Mate shot clear we got checked and had to do a lot of chasing. To keep lifting like she was at the end, we were just so proud of her efforts,” she said. “She’s a super little filly who gives everything she’s got. I wouldn’t swap her for any other filly in the race.”
High Gait has drawn gate five as opposed to Wilmas Mate in gate two for the 2240-metre final. Last start Wilmas Mate ambled out of the gates before asserting her authority over a TM0 field at Melton, while High Gait has shown some gate speed of late without being electric off the arm.
One thing’s for sure, High Gait is ultra-consistent and never runs a bad race. “She just doesn’t know how to lie down,” Molander said.
High Gait, by Muscles Yankee out of Regal Volo, followed up her second place finish in the Victoria Derby with another runner-up effort at Maryborough in the Breeders Crown Heat, beaten 1.7m by Courchevel. High Gait hit the front at the home bend after sitting parked in that race before being outsprinted up the lane by the Yabby Dam Farms owned filly in a track record run of 1:59.6.
Our Regal Love, out of Regal Volo and by French-bred stallion Love You, has won twice and placed third twice since joining the Molander camp.
VIDEO: OUR REGAL LOVE ROMPS HOME AT TABCORP PARK MELTON
The bay filly obliterated a field at Melton on July 29, scoring by 33.3m, before producing a bold third in the Redwood Classic at Maryborough behind two crack geldings in Illawong Byron and Custodian. Most recently she won her Breeders Crown heat at Maryborough comfortably in 2:01.4.
“She’s improving all the time,” Molander said.
“Chris (Alford) said even the improvement she’d made between the Redwood and her Breeders Crown heat was significant.”
Molander said Our Regal Love was “peaking at the right time” for the Crown and had put some chronic tying-up issues behind her.
“She’s been underdone the whole way along but she’s peaking at the right time. I was super pleased with her run the other day.”
Interestingly super mum Regal Volo has already produced two-time Breeders Crown star Our Twentyten, plus the highly talented Alannah Hall in addition to the trotters competing on Sunday.
Molander said the Breckons were “brilliant people to deal with” and said she hoped to deliver success for them on the big stage come Sunday.
Molander is so far one from one in Breeders Crown finals after taking out last year’s three-year-old trotting fillies’ title with Reina Danzante.
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Media enquiries:
Cody Winnell (HRV Media/Communications Manager)
t: 03 8378 0288 | e: cwinnell@hrv.org.au | tw: @codywinnell
