Hungry Hippo claimed his second Tasbred Final when scoring in the Tas Freight Raider Stakes (2200m) for the Tasbred four-year-old entires and geldings at the Ladbrokes Racing Centre Mowbray in Launceston on Sunday night.
Trainer-driver Alex Ashwood positioned the pacer in the one-one, and was left chasing when Preparation kicked near the 400m, before Hungry Hippo ($1.30 fav) dug deep late to score by a head over the fast-finishing Okanui Beach ($4.40), with Preparation ($13) finishing third in a mile rate of 1:59.1s.
“He was strong to the line again.
“If he had got around the corners and not got onto his knee, he probably would have won by five or six metres.
“He has got a lot of fight in him,” said trainer-driver Alex Ashwood.
The Stay Hungry entire has now won seven of his nine starts and has been runner-up on the other two occasions.
Ashwood drove the pacer to win last year’s three-year-old leg of the Tasbred series, the Globe Derby, and took over the training of the pacer in May.
“He arrived in great order, and all I had to do was manage him and get the job done,” the trainer-driver said.
Ashwood also credited his father, Rodney, for looking after the pacer during his Tasmanian campaign, which will include the upcoming Beautide in Launceston on 1 August.
Under the race conditions of the Beautide, the maximum field limit is 10, which is likely to give selectors a difficult task when finalising the field, given the eligible horses from the three and four-year-old group.
The Beautide picture gained further clarity later in the night when the Mark Yole-driven Likeyouforareason ($4) produced a brilliant performance in the open three-year-old event over 2200m.
The For A Reason colt settled five-back on the pegs and moved into the one-out and two-back spot at the bell, before letting down best in a quick last half mile to record a last-stride win by a half-head over Always Bettor ($9.50) and Rocky Rocks (1.90 fav) in a mile rate of 2:00.2s.
“I didn’t think he had any chance at the 400m, given how the race was run. But he just knows where the line is.
“You have to earn your run (in the Beautide), and I think he deserves it now on the strength of that win,” said trainer Christian Salter.
Likeyouforareason’s 54.63s individual last half was the quickest of the meeting.
