Can The Locomotive continue his unbeaten ID24 series run

Talented four-year-old trotter The Locomotive (Muscle Mass) was sent to Brad Hewitt by connections with their main mission to have him prepare for a tilt at the TAB Inter Dominion Trotters harness racing series.

And after the three nights of heats at Newcastle, Bathurst and Menangle during the past fortnight, the son of Muscle Mass was the only horse in either discipline to come through undefeated which extended his winning sequence to seven.

But it has not been all smooth sailing for Hewitt and his trotter, the pair having made earn their victories, pressured right down to the line each time.

The Locomotive was able to break the Bathurst track record for trotters in treacherous conditions on night two before producing another strong effort to score at Menangle after overcoming a gear malfunction and then engaging in a two-horse war with Keyang Chucky over the final three hundred metres.

“He really has had to work for each of his heat wins throughout the series, but has risen to the occasion ever time, continuing to step up to the mark,” said Hewitt.

“Apart from the absence of Just Believe, the horses in the series are the best square trotters going around and given that he is only lightly raced, what he has done to this point has been full of merit.

“His runs at Newcastle and Bathurst were brave and he handled the 1000 metre circuits quite well, but I always felt that he would be better suited and more comfortable at Menangle.”

The Locomotive’s chances of winning Saturday night’s Group 1 final were given a huge boost when he came up with barrier four.
The TAB fixed odds market makers were quick to adjust his price for the final where he firmed into $1.55 favouritism, but Hewitt does not believe that it is going to be all one-way traffic for his charge.

“It is a $150,000 feature race made up of quality trotters, so our opposition are going to be out there doing their level best to win, there is no doubting that,” said Hewitt.

“On paper with how the draw came out, it is likely that the race could be run similar to last week’s heat with Keyang Chucky drawn inside of us in gate three.”

Hewitt concedes that he has it all to do with Captains Knock after the stallion drew inside the second row in the pacers final.

For complete race entries, click here.

by Michael Dumesny, for HRNSW