First win of the season for Hillier trained mare

Talented mare All By Myself (American Ideal) ($3.30) recorded her first win for the harness racing season, producing a brilliant burst of speed to score in a 75 to 105 Pace over 2200m in Launceston on Sunday night.

From the pole draw, trainer-driver Rohan Hillier was happy to keep out of the early speed battle and end up three-back the pegs, and it looked like she was going to be extremely unlucky when held up around the final turn before clear racing room presented along the pylons in the home straight where she went on to score by 1.8m over Nyack ($2 fav) and Letsgobro ($31) in 1:58.7s.

“She had a cheap run. I thought Miss Papenhuyzen was going to be the one to beat (at the top of the home straight) as she went where I wanted to go, and she never got a run. I was just lucky I got a run. It was all luck,” Hillier said post-race.

“I don’t think she is suited to running the gate that much, so the stands suit her well. She is at the end of her preparation, so we will give her a break and come back for those sorts of races again later in the year.

“I think next year we will go towards the George Johnson instead of the Tassie Cup, and even the Golden Apple as she will still get off the front mark with her rating, but she will get 10m in the Tassie Cup. It’s a bit strange, but that’s the way it works,” Hillier said about the plans for the six-year-old daughter of American Ideal.

Earlier in the night, Hazewillrev ($1.30 fav) returned to the winners list to take his career record to five wins from five starts when recording the easiest win of the night in a no more than four-lifetime win pace over 2200m.

The gelded son of Art Major scored up in the desired manner this week and settled one-out and two-back from his second-row draw before the driver took the Craig Hayes-trained pacer to the lead near the 900m before racing away from his rivals from the 400m to record a 22.7m in 1:59.7s.

For complete race results, click here.

by Duncan Dornauf, for Tasracing