Nova Baxter ($4.80 fav) justified favouritism to claim the Ladbrokes Meander Valley Cup (2650m) at Carrick Park on Sunday afternoon.
The Rohan Hillier-trained and driven mare pinged straight to the early lead in the standing start event before taking cover when challenged near the 2200m.
Hillier moved into the one-one down the back straight before producing the mare three-wide at the 300m, with the mare proving to slick in the home straight to score by 2.9m over Thee Old Bomb ($91) and Hazewillrev ($5) in a mile rate of 2:03.8s.
“They poured it on down the back, which broke the field up, and she was always going to get a run.
“She has been going really good. I thought she may have been a bit suspect at the longer trip, but when she got that run, she was going to be hard to beat,” said Hillier post-race.
Hillier is the third trainer to have raced the mare in her 74-start career, which has resulted in 12 wins and 18 placings, with total stake earnings of just over $123,000.
“We couldn’t get her going early so we gave her to Skip (Paul Ashwood), and he won three or four with her, then sacked her, and Mark Jones took her and won three or four and then gave her back as he thought she was on her mark, and now she is going really good.”
Hillier will now aim the mare towards the state’s premier mares race, the George Johnson, in Hobart next month.
“We will go to the George Johnson. She is not good enough to go around in it, but she has earned her opportunity to be in it.
The win was the first leg of a driving double for Hillier, who later in the day had success on the John Castles-trained Nancestiger.
Hillier shared driving hours with Mitch Ford, who drove Park Lane and Triple Vinnies to victory.
Training honours went to Wayne Yole, who prepared Park Lane, which was the trainer’s 200th career training win. Yole’s other winner was Angelshavtime.
The fast class race of the day, the Saddleworld Stakes for the 75 to 105 rated pacers was won by Magnetic Terror who led all the way for another dominant win.
