Evergreen nine-year-old Hellova Street leads a host of several current and former Tasmanian trained gallopers racing in Victoria this weekend.
Having transferred from Scott Brunton’s Seven Mile Beach stables to the Plumpton-based Patrick Payne, the winner of $1.28 million in career prizemoney steps out on Saturday in the Group 3 Easter Cup at Caulfield over 2000 metres.
Despite being a veteran of 57 starts, Hellova Street has never run over 2000 metres and none of his 20 wins have come at distances longer than 1600 metres.
The distance combined with a weight of 60.5kg are the obvious queries for the multiple stakes winner who added another black-type victory when he won the Golden Mile at Bendigo last start.
In an open race where bookmakers are betting $4 the field, Hellova Street is an $8.50 chance with Ladbrokes.
The Good Friday meeting in Launceston was the first missed for the thoroughbred code since the government decision to cease racing in the state for a month, but several trainers have sent horses across the water looking to continue racing.
Longford trainer John Blacker has accepted with Ressy Ranger in an 1800-metre maiden at Warracknabeal on Saturday for their Cup program that also saw his stable star Blaze Forth scratched as topweight for the feature.
Generalmaintenance and Silver Road are both emergencies for Sunday races at Mornington and Stawell respectively, with the Stawell program also including Street Tough among the acceptors, another former Scott Brunton-trained horse that has made his way to Patrick Payne.
Angela Brakey has also sent horses to Victoria this month with both White Cliffs and I’m A Floozy racing in the care of Henry Dwyer in the past week.
White Cliffs is nominated for a race at Geelong on Wednesday, and connections will be hoping for a much firmer track then the one he struck at Caulfield last Saturday.