Renewed rivalry to start this weekend

It a sign of how far Tracy The Jet (Love You) has come that she’s favourite for Saturday night’s Group 1 Victoria Trotters Oaks at Melton

Even more so when you consider she’s drawn three and Gatesys Gem has the pole.

Tracy The Jet is yet to beat home Gatesys Gem (Aldebaran Eagle) in three clashes, but is a $1.50 favourite and Gatesys Gem is at $2.15.

That’s because Tracy The Jet has been stunning winning all five starts, including three feature races, since the pair last clashed in the Group 1 NSW Oaks on May 10. Gatesys Gem won that and Tracy The Jet flew home for a massive second.

The importance of this clash goes well beyond this week.

The glamour pair will head across the ditch to tackle the $NZ500,000 The Ascent at Addington during the iconic NZ Cup Week on November 14.

It’s the race the amazing Keayang Zahara thrashed the Kiwis in last year.

Trainer Jess Tubbs is excited about this week’s clash.

“It’ll be great to see them come together again and get a line on them,” she said. “We’ve had lots of racing and Gatesys Gem is fresh, but has the better draw.

“In saying that, I quite like where we’ve drawn because we’ve got the chance to control the race from there.”

While Tracy The Jet has racked up the wins, Gatesys Gem’s trainer Glenn Hunter admitted he’s had his challenges getting the young star back to her best this campaign.

“We’ve had our battles, but she seems good now and it was great to get that race (and win) into her a couple of weeks back,” he said.

“She’s still on the up, but we might not be getting right back to our best until NZ.”

Tracy The Jet and Gatesys Gem are booked on the same November 5 flight to Auckland and then onto Christchurch as Leap To Fame.

For complete race entries, click here.

by Adam Hamilton, for Harness Racing Victoria