Leading Tasmanian trainer Ben Yole is poised to become the first trainer in Australia to register a century of wins when he takes a large team to the 11-event card in Hobart on Sunday evening.
Yole goes into the meeting with 97 victories for the 2021 season, which sees him 17 wins clear of Grant Dixon on the national trainers’ premiership.
When asked for his best winning chance of the evening, Yole quickly replied with Richmond Tiger, who will be having his Australian debut in the third race on the card, the Nutrien Sprint Lane Pace.
Richmond Tiger won two of his 23 starts in New Zealand, including a last-start win at Cambridge on 18 March, before arriving in Yole’s stable about six weeks ago.
“He was purchased out of New Zealand through an agent, we did a bit of homework on him and he probably lacked a bit of high speed, but he has a bit of a ticker, so I imagine he is a bit of a stayer and he will be driven like that,” said Yole.
The gelded son of Mach Three was seen in public for the first time in the state in a recent Carrick trial where the gelding was defeated by one metre.
There was no time given on the trial, but visually it was easy to see the lack of speed in the first lap and a half of the trial where driver Troy McDonald elected to settle the pacer back in the field.
“You can’t make anything of his trial given how slow they went, but I have been happy with his work prior and after the trial,” said Yole.
Another strong contender from the Yole stable is recent Hobart winner Mykindoffeeling.
The daughter of Mr Feelgood won in Hobart on 14 May before being placed in Launceston on 16 May and has drawn nicely in barrier four on Sunday.
“She has been good her last few, and coming back to a mares only race over the mile, she should be very hard to beat,” said Yole about the pacer who, like Richmond Tiger, will be driven by the states leading reinsman so far this season, Troy McDonald.
Yole also gave a strong push for last start Launceston winner Postal Run who lines up in race nine, who draws inside of the second-row and will be driven by Troy McDonald.
“I think he is going to get the right run again as I think he will end up behind the leader,” said Yole about the four-year-old gelding.
The Yole stable has been known to head across and have a satellite stable in Victoria during the winter period, which the stable hasn’t ruled out for this season.
“We are thinking about it but at the moment we are happy with what we are doing. We also have a lot of young ones in work, so we are all sort of hands-on at the stables at the moment,” explained Yole.
Sunday’s Hobart card features the L.H.T Cup, a rating 60 or better standing start event that has attracted an even field and is the first leg of the quaddie as race five on the card.
The first of 11 races is set down for 16:59, with races one and two on Sky Racing 2, with the remaining races on Sky Racing 1, all races will be streamed on TasracingTV.
