IT is a decade since the mighty Beautide won the second of his two Inter Dominion crowns and now Tasmanians believe they have another horse good enough to give harness racing’s biggest event a serious shake.
The excitement around the untapped Triedtotellya is immense and still growing.
It was fuelled even further by the five-year-old’s mesmerizing win in last Sunday’s Doug Martin Danbury Park Cup in Launceston.
The arrogance and ease of the win after making a mess of the start and giving away about 50m to the leaders was something to behold.
It underlined trainer-driver Rohan Hillier’s ambition to chase the Brisbane Inter Dominion series next year.
“We actually nominated him for the Inter Dominion this year and wanted to go, but he was so far down the rankings we had to race him to try and above the cut-off and it took its toll,” Hillier said.
“Hopefully this year they think a bit more of him and he’s higher up (the rankings). We’d love to give it a crack.
“I take a line through another Tassie horse like Nyack and he’s competitive at that top level when he’s at the top of his game. I’m sure Triedtotellya is at least as good as him.”
Triedtotellya is bred and raced by the Howlett clan, but they sent him to Hillier after a couple of tendon injuries.
That’s why the gelding has only raced 22 times for 16 wins, three seconds and a third.
“I’d had luck getting Ryley Major back from a bad tendon injury and I think they (the Howletts) hoped I could do the same with this horse,” Hillier said.
“I’m probably better set-up for it. I train near the beach and I’ve got a pool to swim them in, too.
“So far so good. Last campaign it was always in the back of my mind the issue could flare again, but this time-in he hasn’t been lame and isn’t showing any signs of a problem.”
Ryley Major, who missed almost three years of racing with his tendon injury from 2016 to 2019, returned to be a star in Tasmania.
He retired in early 2023 with a remarkable record of 77 starts for 35 wins, 33 placings and $416,873.
As special as Ryley Major was to Hillier, he doesn’t hesitate to say Triedtotellya is a level above him.
“Different gravy, that’s what he is,” he said. “He’s easily the best and most talented horse I’ve had anything to do with.
“If Ryley had missed away from the stand like this horse did last Sunday, I’d have had to chase him all the way, but Triedtotellya pulled me back into the race.
“The speed he’s got is incredible. They went 27.4sec down the back the other night and he accelerated off that and made lots of ground.
“He’s got depth, too. He’s a good stayer with a terrific heart rate.
“I’m sure he’ll be competitive with the good horses, it’s just a matter of whether he can take that next step and we won’t know until we try.”
Before then, Hillier is focused on another couple of major wins in his own backyard.
The $40,000 Hobart Pacing Cup is on January 11 and then Tasmania’s only Group 1 harness race, the $150,000 Ladbrokes Tasmania Cup final, is on February 28.
