THE big brute of Australia’s three-year-old ranks Hollywood Strip is ready for a racetrack return.
Trainer-driver Brad Hewitt confirmed the NSW Derby winner would resume in a heat of the Nutrien 3YO series at Wagga on Friday week.
The $100,000 final is at Wagga on May 30.
“We managed to get him three weeks out and he loved it,” Hewitt said.
“He went to the trials last Thursday and pleased us. He’ll improve on whatever he does in the heat, but we needed to get that break when we could with so many big races to target this year.”
Hollywood Strip boasts 10 wins and a third from just 11 starts, including the NSW Breeders Challenge 2YO final and NSW Derby at Group 1 level.
He hasn’t raced since thrashing older and more experienced rivals in the Wagga Pacing Cup on April 4.
Beyond the Nutrien final, Hewitt is focused on a Brisbane winter raid.
“Providing he comes through the Wagga final well, we’ll look to a couple of those Albion Park features,” he said.
The $300,000 Group 1 Rising Sun on July 4 is the first of them. The race also carries a $50,000 bonus if a three-year-old like Hollywood Strip can beat the four-year-olds and win it.
The $150,000 Group 1 Queensland Derby on Inter Dominion final night (July 18) is the other target.
Longer term, Hewitt's sights are firmly set on the $1.5 million TAB Eureka at Menangle in November.
Hewitt said his open-class star Captains Knock had also enjoyed some much needed time out.
“Those older horses only need a few weeks out to recharge,” he said. “He seems great. He’s been back in (work) just over a week.
“He’ll be back racing mid to late next month (June) and I’ll give him a run or two before we decide whether to have a crack at the Inter Dominion or not.”
Hewitt said he would be in a better position to make plans for his former Inter Dominion-winning trotter The Locomotive in the next week or.
“It’s been challenging getting him back, but the next week or so will be really important with him as far as timings go,” he said.
The Locomotive boasts 25 wins from just 44 starts, including the 2024 Sydney Inter Dominion final, but hasn’t raced since a Menangle win on November 29, last year.
