Iona Trotter Syndicate hoping for more success

There’ll be a renewed fire in the belly among members of the Iona Trotter Syndicate on Friday as they head to Victorian harness racing headquarters to cheer on Just Believe (Orlando Vici) in the country’s biggest squaregaiting feature.

The Jess Tubbs-trained gelding had his five-race winning streak snapped last weekend when third in the V L Dullard Trotters Cup, and connections are desperate for him to solidify his place as Australia’s best trotter when he steps out in the Woodlands Stud Great Southern Star at Melton.

Malcolm Wells heads up the 27-strong syndicate and thinks a sense of complacency might have crept into the minds of some fellow owners before Just Believe’s recent surprise defeat.

“I’ve always said to them: ‘cherish the moment, the tide will turn and it’s not going to be this good forever’,” Wells said.

“I think a lot of them turned up expecting we were going to do well, and I think there might have been a couple of ashen-looking faces on Saturday night after we had not won.

“The reality is you can’t win them all. I think the hunger will be there (Friday night), and they’ll be as boisterous and loud as what they were during the Inter Dominion series.”

The Inter Dominion series Wells refers to was an amazing one for Just Believe as he went through the three rounds of heats undefeated before a last-gasp victory in the grand final at Melton on December 10.

Just Believe has now won eight of 12 starts for Tubbs, who landed the job of preparing him when former trainer Michael Hughes decided to step away from the sport last year.

With Hughes’ departure came a turnover of syndicate members just before the new surrounds of Myrniong were helping mould the seven-year-old into a serious racehorse.

“There’s been probably four people that have been fortunate enough to come into the horse in around May or June, and a couple of them had never even raced a horse before,” Wells said.

“They’ve just had the most incredible ride with a couple of Group 1s, some Group 2s and Group 3s and eight wins from the last 12 starts since they would have been part of the syndicate.

“They were just in a great spot at the right time and are very happy people.”

Just Believe is the all-in favourite for Friday night’s Great Southern Star, a unique trotting feature that pits horses in 1720m heats at the start of the night (races three and four) before qualifiers back-up for a $300,000 Group 1 final later on the card (race nine at 10.05pm).

The first three horses across the line in each heat automatically qualify for the final, with the next four fastest trotters on gross time making up the field of 10.

For complete race entries, click here.

by Tim O’Connor, for Harness Racing Victoria