French mare emerges at Melton

A French-bred trotter has announced herself as a potential future star with a beauty of a win at Tabcorp Park Melton on Saturday night.

Hopeful Beauty, the product of French stallion Brillantissime and French mare Beauty Life, overcame a back-row draw to win the Aldebaran Park Sweetheart Trot Final in impressive fashion for owners Yabby Dam Farms.

After settling towards the rear, driver Jason Lee took advantage of a slow pace up front to whiz the mare around to the lead with a lap to go before careering away to win by 15 metres in a 2:00.6 mile rate.

She has now won three of her last five starts and Lee told Trots Vision after the race her stable expected more to come.

“(Trainer) Anton (Golino) has always had the opinion that she’ll keep getting better,” Lee said. “(He) just had to teach her to be a racehorse and she’s starting to put it all together.”

Lee said he needed a “bit of luck” for the mid-race move to pay off.

“I was sort of half-happy where we were, knowing that we would probably be able to follow Josh (Duggan on La Serana) into the race,” he said.

“(But) the speed had sort of slackened out of it a little bit; I just thought we’d take off and chance our arm – it came off and we looked good, if it hadn’t we would have looked bad.”

Lee said the win showed Hopeful Beauty had more than one string to her bow.

“I have sort of always had a soft spot for her in that I think she is really fast and eventually she will be able to get off the gate pretty good too,” he said.

“The other thing is I think she is pretty tough, which she’s shown tonight. I think as she gets down in grade it’s not going to worry her whether she has to come with one run or have to do a little bit of work, and I think that’s her best attribute.”

Hopeful Beauty’s commanding win wasn’t the only trotting highlight from Saturday night – Norquay returned to the winners’ list in the Hyland Racing Colours Trot, as did Royal Charlotte in the Dynamic Print Group Trot. And star Sparkling Success added yet another Group 3 win to his impressive resume in the Niota Bloodstock I Didnt Do It Trotters Free For All.

The pacers didn’t disappoint either, with Torrid Saint’s win in the Allied Express Pace a big talking point after the five-year-old paced roughly at the line. But HRV Chairman of Stewards Brett Day told Trots Vision it didn’t cost the five-year-old the race because he maintained his gait to the line.

And Sirletic overcame a talented field to win the TAB Long May We Play Pace in a sizzling 1:52.3 mile rate for Josh and David Aiken.

Josh said the seven-year-old, a consistent top-level placegetter, had to be driven as a sit-sprinter but possessed the “electric speed” needed to win a Group 1 race with the right run.

“He is going to be the sort of horse that, with that turn of foot, he’ll run into the money most weeks,” he said.

“Obviously driven that way he is going to have some bad luck at times, but when he gets the split he shows how deadly he is.”