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The future of Victorian harness racing was on show at the Mildura Cup Carnival.
Young New Zealand reinsman Tristan Larsen scored the biggest win of his relatively short career in Australia when he partnered Kyvalley Heist (Muscle Mass) to an all the way win in the $20,000 Mildura Trotters Cup.
Earlier in the night 18-year-old Abby Anderson steered Dangerous to victory in the $50,000 Mildura Pacing Cup while 21-year-old Ewa Justice drove the runner up Helluva.
One of only two horses off the front, Kyvalley Heist stepped straight to the lead and Larsen was allowed to dictate the terms of the race to suit himself on settling.
James Herberston wasn’t happy with the dawdling tempo on the $2.50 favorite Mercenary and made an unsuccessful attempt to wrest the death seat off his main danger Keayang Xena ($2.90) with two laps to travel.
A 64.4 first half of the last mile ensured Kyvalley Heist ($4.20) had plenty in reserve for the run home and the Brent Lilley trained trotter cruised to the line holding a six metre advantage over Keayang Xena returning a leisurely mile rate of 2:07.7.
CLEAN GETAWAY!
Kyvalley Heist has taken out the Club Merbein Mildura Trotters Cup for Tristan Larsen and Brent Lilley. pic.twitter.com/EVJPHdQBvP
— The Trots (@TheTrotsComAu) April 6, 2024
The 21-year-old Larsen is the son of leading Southland trainers Kirk and Michelle Larsen.
“In the warm up he felt really good so I thought I’d drive him how he feels and it worked out well,” Larsen said.
Larsen, who drove Kyvalley Heist to victory in the Central Victorian Trotters Championship Final, said the son of Muscle Mass keeps raising the bar.
“It was a step up in class but he seems to be getting better and better, hats off to him,” he said.
Larsen works for Lilley and has no plans to return home to New Zealand in the immediate future.
“I’m getting quite a few good drives and plenty of drives too, so I’ll stay until it ends,” he said.
For complete race results, click here.
by John Dunne, for Harnesslink
