THE connections of rising star New Zealand pacer Bettors Strike have the $125,000 Wrest Point Tasmania Cup firmly in their sights.
Bettors Strike won the Cranbourne Cup last Saturday night at his first start in Australia. He defeated the favourite Ohoka Nevada in a driving finish.
At his previous start Bettors Strike was a close second in the $1 million New Zealand Cup behind last Sunday’s Miracle Mile winner Monkey King and two starts prior he defeated Monkey King in a race at Ashburton.
Bettors Strike’s trainer Cran Dalgety confirmed today that hew is keen to cross Bass Strait for the Tasmania Cup and also is considering tackling the $50,000 City of Launceston Cup in Launceston a week prior to the Tasmania Cup.
“The horse’s next start will be in the Victoria Cup on December 12 so with the Launceston Cup on a week before the Tasmania Cup we might just come over for the week,” Dalgety said.
“Of course it all hinges on how he comes through the Victoria Cup and the outcome of that race but he is a good stand-start horse and would be suited to the Tasmania Cup,” he said.
Bettors Strike has been driven throughout his past two campaigns by boom young NZ reinsman Dexter Dunn and Dalgety said Dunn would definitely drive the horse in Tasmania if he made the trip.
“We’d need a pretty strong crowbar to get Dexter off this horse,” Dalgety said.
Meanwhile, Victorian trainer Peter Tonkin is still considering nominating one of his stable stars, Mafioso, for the Tasmania Cup and last year’s winner Bold Cruiser is likely to defend his title according to trainer Darryl Douglas.