Auckland Reactor gelding breaks record held by top pacers

Auckland Reactor gelding Willie Go West not only obliterated his rivals in the $40,000 Hobart Cup on Sunday he broke the long-standing track record in the process.

The Dean Braun-trained pacer clocked 1:57.5 in the 2579m feature, lowering the previous record held dually by Blacks A Fake and Flashing Red in the 2006 Inter Dominion series.

Driven by Chris Alford, the five-year-old pacer had to work hard for his success racing three-wide and to the front where he cruised to the line with more than 20m to spare on his rivals.

“They are never easy races to win, they are always hard races feature races,” said Braun.

“He did look to have a little bit in them, I was a bit concerned with the false start but Chris is the best driver in the country in my opinion and he put it beyond doubt.”

Watch the replay here.

That was Willie Go West’s first start since October 30.

“We had him ready for the Breeders Crown Free-For-All but got a bout of colic on the Wednesday which we were pretty disappointed with because he had the barrier draw but it is what it is,” said Braun.

“We had to give him a fortnight off after that to let him get over it and he trialled pretty good with Cruz Bromac on Tuesday so we knew he was pretty much back on track.”

Willie Go West has now won nine of his 19 starts and is being aimed at his biggest task to date, the $500,000 A.G. Hunter Cup at Melton on February 5.

By Amanda Rando for Harnesslink