The $30,000 Office National Tasmanian Derby is the highlight of the nine races at Hobart on Sunday night. A small but talented field will contest the 3YO classic (Race 6 at 8.56 pm) with all runners trained in Tasmania.
Mojo Major (N1) is a Victorian pacer now trained at Brighton by Rod Ashwood. His wife Paige Ashwood is a part owner and their son Alex Ashwood will take the drive on Sunday night. The Art Major – Serenity Franco colt won three races from nine starts last season in Victoria and was the first Australian horse in the $297,000 Breeders Crown Final when he finished fourth behind the New Zealanders Follow The Stars, Kept Under Wraps and My Field Marshall.
After a decent break, Mojo Major returned to racing in January this year with a second at Ballarat and a sixth placing in a heat of the Victorian Derby. Two subsequent runs in Tasmania have been easy wins (19 and 22 metres) at Hobart and Mojo Major has drawn ideally in barrier one.
Mister Lennox (N2) has impressed this season in the lead up to the Derby. The Juanita McKenzie trained colt has won five of his six starts this preparation and was a close second in the other. His winning times at Hobart compare favourably with Mojo Major.
No Spring Secrets (N6) was a handy 2YO that has developed into a smart 3YO. The Steve Lukac (Oatlands) trained gelding has two wins and a second from three starts this season and his winning times are slightly quicker than Mister Lennox and Mojo Major
Four Ex Dan (N6) may be the surprise packet even though he lacks race experience. The Rohan Hillier trained colt was forced to travel wide on debut at Devonport on Boxing Night before rolling clear to win by seven metres. Next up at Launceston he was out of position at the start after breaking in the score up and recovered well to finish third. His only other race start was at Hobart last Sunday when he circled the field midrace to the death seat and forged clear to win by four metres in a mile rate of 2:01.8 for 2090 metres. Four Ex Dan gives the impression that the 2579 metres of the Derby will hold no fears.
Two other time honoured feature races will be conducted on Sunday night. The open class $10,000 Incat Tasmania Governors Cup (Race 7) has 11 acceptors with many winning chances. Zeke Slater has a strong representation with Greysteel (N1), Motu Crusader (N10) and Run Ripalong (N11). Last weeks Metropolitan Cup winner, Our Chain Of Command (N5), will be aiming for three wins from his last four starts and Modern Ruler (N3) will appreciate a close in draw over the 2090 metres journey. Other winning chances may be Ardlussa Express (N2), the Majority (N8) and the Geoff Smith trained duo Dodgermemate (N7) and the Launceston track record holder Truly Blissful (N9).
The $10,000 Light Harness Tasmania Cup (Race 5) is a standing start with 14 acceptors and if the heats are any guide, the backmarkers are likely to dominate the race. Ex Victorian Pushkin (N10) won his heat at his third Tasmanian start for Rohan Hadley and Mighty Jasper (N12) continued the winning run for the Nathan Ford stable with a narrow heat win over Franco Sheffield (N13). Supersub (N11), Hello Good Shanks (N14) and Cool Wharton (N15) can win with the right run.