The Group 3 Hardings Hotmix Devonport Pacing Cup is the feature race on an exciting eight-race card at the Devonport Showgrounds on Sunday night.
Markets were released with their fixed odds on Wednesday with the Troy Hillier trained and driven Illegal Immigrant opening up as the $4.50 favourite in the 3020-metre event over Smart Little Shard at $5.50 and Im Jaks Teller at $6.00.
The race sees 2017 winner Pachacuti go around as one of the two ten-metre handicapped runners.
Drivers in the race that have won the cup before include; Ricky Duggan, who has won the race on five occasions, Rohan Hadley is a four-time winner, Todd Rattray two and Mark Yole and Paul Hill have one cup each on the mantlepiece.
The Cup is race six and is set down to start at 20:42.
1. Smart Little Shard
Trainer; John Nicholson, Driver; Jack Laugher (C)
Opening Price; $5.50
The Victorian trained pacer has won 12 of 56 starts with 16 placings to his credit. He won a $20,000 heat of the Gordon Rothacker Memorial Championship at Melton on 15 November and his last start was a fourth placing at St Arnaud on 31 December. Since that effort he has finished sixth in a Melton trial on 13 January. This is his first standing start race after qualifying in a trial in early 2019. His trainer John Nicholson has an excellent strike rate when bringing horses to Tasmania and he has given the driving responsibilities to ex-pat Tasmanian Jack Laugher who now calls Victoria home.
2. Perfect Mach
Trainer; Ben Yole, Driver; Mark Yole
Opening Price; $23.00
Almost caused a major boilover here three-starts ago when defeated by the narrowest of margins to Somedan in a Discretionary Handicap on 19 January where he enjoyed a lovely run on the leaders back. Since then he has finished fifth in Launceston on 24 January before finishing third behind Finn Mac Kee in the New Norfolk Pacing Cup last Sunday in Hobart when only 0.6 of a metre behind the second placegetter. He is proven in these long-distance races as we saw in last year’s Burnie Cup where he was three-wide for a large portion of the 2789 metre trip. 14 of his 19 career wins have been in standing start races.
3. Ideal World
Trainer; Ben Yole, Driver; Wayne Hill
Opening Price; $8.50
He was good when arriving in the state where he contested the Tassie Golden Apple series where he finished third in his heat before being defeated a neck behind Ryley Major in the $30,000 Final. Since that effort, he has won the North Eastern Pacing Cup at Scottsdale on 10 January, but he was well defeated at his most recent start here on 19 January when beaten over 83 metres. The stewards reported on that occasion that the pacer had pulled up with an elevated heart rate and that trainer Ben Yole believed that the gelding didn’t back up well from the tough run on Scottsdale that was on a heavy rated track.
4. Black Centurian
Trainer; Steven Davis, Driver; Gareth Rattray
Opening Price; $11.00
The 10-year-old gelding is back for his sixth try in the north-west coast premier event. His best results have been a second placing to Pachacuti in 2017 and a second to Outback Mach in 2016. He comes into this race off a third placing to Ideal World in the North Eastern Pacing Cup at Scottsdale where he was a terrific run off his 20-metre handicap on the rain-affected track, and the start prior he was second to Koolaz Elvis in the St Marys Pacing Cup. The gelding has recorded 18 wins in his 127-start career with eight of those wins coming in standing start races.
5. Im Jaks Teller
Trainer; Juanita McKenzie, Driver; Ricky Duggan
Opening Price; $5.50
The six-year-old entire is having his first start on the Devonport track. He has won 12 of his 33 career starts with his most recent win five starts ago in Hobart on 24 November. Im Jaks Teller was a beaten favourite in the New Norfolk Pacing Cup last start where he was three-wide the final lap where many horses found it hard to make ground on Finn Mac Kee in track record time. He will be driven by Ricky Duggan who has won the race on five occasions in the past.
6. Full Speed Ahead
Trainer; Marc Butler, Driver; Rohan Hadley (C)
Opening Price; $7.00
Has won two of his eight starts this season, with the most recent victory coming in Launceston on 3 November. The pacer likes his runs spread apart and he gets that here, after finishing down the track in the St Marys Pacing Cup on 1 January. Three starts ago he was runner up to Ryley Major where he led in a heat of the Golden Apple and was run down in a 56.7s last half mile, before failing in the final which the trainer put down to the short back-up. The gelding will be driven by Rohan Hadley who is another reinsman in the race with a good record, winning the cup on four occasions in the past.
7. Somedan
Trainer; Ben Yole, Driver; Troy McDonald
Opening Price; $11.00
The seven-year-old gelding will be lining up for his 100th career start which has seen him win 15 races and record a further 32 placings. The pacer has only missed a top-three finish on one occasion in six starts on the Devonport track. He won here two-starts ago when leading over the 2645-metre trip which was his first win in a standing start race. On that occasion he defeated Perfect Mach by a short half head with 7.9-metres back to the third placegetter, his chances are passed around by how well Smart Little Shard steps and luck in-running from the draw.
8. Taurisi
Trainer; Todd Rattray, Driver Lachlan Dakin (C)
Opening Price; $71.00
Has been out of the winner’s circle since winning a heat of the Golden Apple in December 2018. The gelded son of Always A Virgin hasn’t been placed in 15 starts since that win. Trainer Todd Rattray has given the driving responsibilities to stable junior driver Lachlan Dakin, as Rattray has elected to drive stable mate Pachacuti in the race which may be a strong lead for punters.
9. Dasher Houli
Trainer; Mark Reggett, Driver Paul Hill
Opening Price; $7.50
Resumed from a spell with a top win in a heat of the Golden Apple four starts ago before finishing third in the final where he wasn’t disgraced. Since that effort, he has finished fourth in Launceston on 5 January before finishing third to Ryley Major in Hobart last week where he was defeated 3.6-metres in a time of 1m 55.8s for the mile trip. The seven-year-old gelding his only had the one start in Devonport which was a third placing behind Harjeet in the 2017 Allen Williams Memorial Final.
10. Goggo Gee Gee
Trainer; Rachel Williams, Driver; Ben Parker
Opening Price; $23.00
The Rachel Williams-trained gelding just loves running second of late. He was runner up to Sunny Sanz in the Meander Valley Cup at Carrick Park on 29 December when defeated a half-head but was some 12-metres clear of the third placegetter. He has finished second in three of his next four starts including the New Norfolk Pacing Cup in Hobart last week. The gelded son of Bettors Delight has had 12 starts on the Devonport track but he has only recorded three-second placings.
11. All Style Sammy (Em 1)
Scratched.
12. Illegal Immigrant (10m)
Trainer-driver; Troy Hillier
Opening Price; $4.50 favourite
The Troy Hillier-trained and driven pacer comes back to the ten-metre line for the first time since finishing fifth in the Easter Cup Final in April. Since that effort, the gelded son of American Ideal has won three races. He finished fourth here last time out in a Discretionary handicap over 2645 metres in a race that was dominated by those up on the speed. He was sent out the $4.00 favourite in this race last year where he was driven by Troy’s brother Rohan into fifth placing. The winner of 17 races has only been placed in one of his four starts in Devonport.
13. Pachacuti (10m)
Trainer-driver; Todd Rattray
Opening Price; $7.00
Is a former winner of this race in 2017 where he scored a six-metre win after staring off a 30-metre handicap when becoming only the second horse to win off that handicap in the past 20-years. A lot has happened for the gelding since that win including a campaign in New South Wales where he won three races at Menangle. The pacer has had two runs back in the state from a long spell including a very good first-up second in Launceston on 5 January when starting off a 20-metre handicap over the 2200 metre trip behind Sea Double Ugrant before finishing sixth to Perfect Mach here last time out where he was driven for luck when defeated 13 metres.
Duncan Dornauf’s Top Four selections;
12. Illegal Immigrant, 1. Smart Little Shard, 13. Pachacuti, 7. Somedan.