Bit longer to wait for Just Believe fans

Champion harness racing trotter Just Believe (Orlando Vici) will head straight to the $75,000 Group 1 Bill Collins Trotters’ Sprint at Melton on October 12.

But star stablemate Better Eclipse (Betterthancheddar) looks set to tackle the $75,000 Group 2 Kilmore Cup next Friday night.

Trainer Jess Tubbs updated plans ahead of the pair heading to New Zealand in November.

“Kilmore looks the next likely option for ‘Jimmy’ (Better Eclipse),” Tubbs said.

Then the Auckland Cup winner heads to what is shaping as a very strong $300,000 Group 1 Victoria Cup at Melton on October 12.

There were hopes Just Believe may have joined his stablemate at Kilmore to tackle the Trotters’ Cup, which has a 30m maximum backmark.

“No, he will head to the Bill Collins,” Tubbs said.

Just Believe is unbeaten in three runs this campaign, but the latest of them was at Ballarat in the John Slack Memorial on September 5.

More immediately, Tubbs’ classy mare Rakero Rebel has been heavily backed to beat a strong field, including Captain Ravishing, in Saturday night’s Graham Goffin Memorial free-for-all (1720m) at Melton.

The five-year-old has the decided advantage of barrier one and has been crunched from a generous $5 opening price into $2.40.

Tubbs has toyed with taking her back to her NZ homeland with Just Believe and Better Eclipse.

“She’s going to stay home, we’ve changed plans with her,” she said.

However, Tubbs said the stable may still have a third Kiwi raider.

“There is a chance One Over All may take Rakero Rebel’s spot,” she said. “I’m still working on flights with IRT.”

One Over All, a winner of 22 races and over $300,000, ran a terrific and close-up third to Callmethebreeze at Geelong last Saturday night.

Kiwi fans were hopeful both Just Believe and Better Eclipse would run at the iconic and picturesque Kaikoura Cup meeting on November 5 as a lead-in to NZ Cup Week, but that now seems unlikely.

“Greg and the horses will be over there, but we’re not sure it suits the schedule now,” Tubbs said.

From Harness Racing Australia