Star trotters back for hyped-up Melton meeting

Tornado Valley is back for what might be his final race preparation and will have another tilt at breaking through the million-dollar barrier this Friday at Tabcorp Park Melton.

The Andy Gath-trained champion squaregaiter was sent for a spell after his third placing at Melton in early May and will go into this week’s open class event without the benefit of a trial.

The nine-year-old has so far fallen short in his bid to become just the ninth Australasian-bred trotter to reach the $1 million prizemoney mark – currently stuck on $996,797 in earnings – but he can join that illustrious list with victory at Victorian headquarters.

He has drawn barrier seven and has the front row advantage over key rival and fellow Group 1 winner Tough Monarch, who will make the trip down from New South Wales for trainer Rickie Alchin.

The return of Alpha Male is also an exciting highlight on Friday’s card.

Emma Stewart’s uber-talented trotter has had just five career starts and has not raced since March 2019 when he won the Group 1 Need For Speed Final by 34.4m.

He has warmed up for Friday’s return with two trials at Melton, both of which he has won in good style.

All roads lead to Bendigo this weekend, with Saturday night’s Pryde’s EasiFeed Victoria Cup meeting one to savour.

Barrier draws for the night’s four Group 1 features were conducted live on TrotsVision on Monday night and fields for the entire 11-race card were released today.

CLICK HERE FOR FRIDAY’S MELTON FIELDS

CLICK HERE FOR SATURDAY’S BENDIGO FIELDS

By  Tim O’Connor for HRV