Two-year-old filly Melican justified her short quote, recording an easy win in the Hobart Belmont (1609m) for two- and three-year-old maiden fillies on Sunday night.
The Rodney Ashwood-trained pacer was sent out the $1.14 favourite, with Alex Ashwood in the sulky, and didn’t let her supporters down with a 25.2m win over Baby Charlotte ($7) and Sheezsotiny ($12) in a time of 1:59.5s.
Despite the win, there were a few anxious moments when the filly paced roughly in the early stages of the race.
“She did a couple of things wrong at the start, and she was hitting her wheels, Alex said, but it’s just a learning curve with her,” said Rodney.
“She’s a very strong, laid-back filly, and she gets over the ground so easily.”
Melican trialled in Victoria in March before joining Rodney’s stable and had three trials in Tasmania prior to her debut win.
“Alex rang me one day and said, ‘I’ve got a horse for you.’ They were having a bit of trouble with her not going straight.
“She showed something in her first trial for me, and a couple of gear changes, and she has just kept improving, and that’s what she has done every time she has stepped out, and I think she is going to be alright.”
Rodney said the filly’s owners, John and Teresa Gilbertson, made the trip over on the Spirit of Tasmania to watch the filly and are scheduled to return to Victoria on Monday night.
“They were very committed and very happy with the result,” said the trainer.
The trainer was unsure about the future plans for Melican, who is Vicbred.
Training honours at the Hobart meeting went to Leigh Rand, who prepared Muzzame Mate ($2.40 fav) and Omybacnknees Judge ($7) to victory.
