Cardigan trainer Emma Stewart has the Victoria Derby favourite.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Hurricane Harley heads the betting market for the group 1 three-year-old classic after winning his heat in Ballarat on Saturday.
Stewart qualified three of her eight starters for the final across three heats, but big hope Centenario was not among them in a shock outcome.
Hurricane Harley ($1.10 favourite) found the lead in the opening heat and Amanda Turnbull, having her first drive on him, always looked in charge in rating 1:56.8 for 2200m.
First-up since winning the Australasian Breeders Crown 2yo final at the end of last season, Hurricane Harley led home stablemate Hardhitter ($17).
Stewart also had Perfect Major ($58) get into the final at Melton on Saturday with a second in heat three, while Demon Delight is the emergency as the fastest fifth in the heats,
Im Another Masterpiece ($2.10 favourite) and Max Delight ($2.20 favourite) saluted in the other derby heats.
Victoria Derby market (pre-barrier draw tab.com.au fixed odds): $2.60 Hurricane Harley, $2.70 In Another Masterpiece, $4.50 Max Delight, $9 Lochinvar Art, $9 Muscle Factory, $11 Demon Delight (emerg), $31 Hardhitter, $34 Malcolms Rhythm, $41 Petes Big Jim, $51 War Dan Delight, $101 Crime Writer, $151 Arggghhh, $151 Perfect Major
IM Another Masterpiece was part of another master class by the New Zealand stable of Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen, which had a treble.
Rasmussen drove each of the winners.
They also scored with Thefixer in the Ballarat Pacing Cup and highly credentialled Spankem ($1.04 favourite) in the PETstock Pet Smarts C3-C4 Pace, 1710m.
Spankem could easily have slotted into the cup, but Purdon and Rasmussen chose the easier option ahead of the riches of the group 1 $100,000 4yo Bonanza and possibly the group 1 $500,000 AG Hunter Cup.
NATALIE Rasmussen was one of three drivers to have multiple winners on the 10-race program.
Kerryn Manning scored in the first two events with Onthecrestofawave ($1.20 favourite) in the PETstock Rewards C1 Pace, 1710m and Major Assassin ($7.40) in the Caribou C0 Pace, 1710m.
Gavin Lang then followed up with another double, with Pantzup ($1.60 favourite) in a Vicbred Platinum Trotting Mares' Sprint Championship heat, 1710, and Save Our Pennys ($1.80 favourite) in the group 2 EB Cochran Trotters' Cup, 2200m.
THE major drama of the night was the late scratching from the Ballarat Pacing Cup of NSW-trained Our Triple Play by order of the stewards on veterinary advice.
He was ruled out just 74 minutes before the cup.