Connections of Four Ex Dan celebrate their Wangaratta win. Photo by Kyle Galley
Faith their fella could get it done on the mainland has been rewarded with Troy and Michelle Hillier, the Tasmanian owners of Four Ex Dan, now also the proud owners of a North East Fasteners Wangaratta Pacing Cup.
The Adam Kelly-trained Four Starzzz Shark five-year-old did it the hard way, punching the breeze throughout, but had plenty in the tank come the home straight to career away and win by 3m from favourite Rockstar Angel.
“We thought that he’d be hard to beat in the race and was very happy that he won,” Kelly said. “It’s great to win any country cup. This is the second time I’ve won the Wangaratta Cup (after Five Star Anvil won in 2013), it’s been a good race for me.”
It also capped a colossal two days for driver Zac Phillips, who just one night earlier won his first Group 1 at Tabcorp Park Melton, and then 30 minutes later added his second.
Phillips drove Four Ex Dan with confidence, circling the field with two laps remaining to take the sit outside $1.50 favourite Rockstar Angel
“That was the plan, on these tighter tracks you have to be up on the pace and we were happy to put him in the breeze early and put a bit of pressure on Rockstar Angel and hope we’d be too strong,” Kelly said.
The two controlled the pace, cooling their jets with 61.8 seconds added to the clock in the first two quarters before they knuckled down with consecutive 28.6 quarters.
That saw them well and truly separate from the remainder of the field, with Ask Me Mach running into third some 23.4m in arrears, and in the battle for the crown it was Four Ex Dan who emerged triumphant.
“He’s adjusted to racing (in Victoria) pretty good,” Kelly said. “He didn’t have a lot of luck early, but is doing a good job. The boys who had him were fairly confident that he would make metro grade. They were right.
“He can do work and follow the speed as well. There are a couple of times he has been back in the field and hit the line well with a sit.”
The Wangaratta Cup win has also fuelled confidence of more Trots Country Cups Championship success to come.
“It was a learning curve in respect to getting around a tighter track, because I’m toying with the idea of Mildura and wanted to see how he’d cope.”
The Group 2 Park Douglas Printing Mildura Pacing Cup on Saturday, April 8, will likely follow Four Ex Dan stepping out at Tabcorp Park Melton on Friday, March 31, for an $18,000 M1 to M3 Pace.
Media enquiries:
Michael Howard (HRV Media/Communications Co-Ordinator)
t: 03 8378 0286 | e: mhoward@hrv.org.au | tw: @MichaelRHoward
