PREMIER Tasmanian harness trainer Phillip Ford has his sights on the Raider Stakes with his improving four-year-old Brian Buster Brown.
The gelding made it successive wins when he demoralized his opposition in a strong C0-C1 race over 2090 metres at Tattersall’s Park in Hobart last Sunday night.
“This horse is coming along nicely this time in and if he keeps improving then we will head towards the Raider Stakes later in the season,” Ford said.
The Raider Stakes is Tasmania’s four-year-old sires’ stakes feature that carries prize money of $30,000 and is run at Devonport in April.
Brian Buster Brown caught the attention of pundits and punters alike when he scored a brilliant win at The TOTE Racing Centre in Launceston last Sunday week.
It was a similar performance last Sunday. He settled in the one-out line but heading down the back straight the last time it appeared the gelding might struggle to get a run with horses on his outside in the three-wide train.
But talented young reinsman Nathan Ford was able to extricate the gelding from the pack and when he eased him five-wide to make his charge at the top of the straight the son of Dieberspace put the end result beyond doubt within the blink of an eye.
It was the first leg of a winning treble for trainer Ford. He also prepared Secret Rendezvous to win as the rank outsider ($30) in a six-horse field in the Claire Hudson Pace (2090m) and another outsider Dance Of The Deity ($20.30) in the Tom Simpson free-for-all.
Listen to what trainer Phillip Ford had to say about Brian Buster Brown – click here.