Confidence boosting win for Team Hope in G2 Anzac Cup

Woodend Beach harness racing trainers, Greg and Nina Hope combined for a second consecutive Group Two Anzac Cup with a dominant victory by Muscle Mountain (Muscle Hill) in tonight’s G2 $53,700 trotting feature at Alexandra Park.

The training partnership had won the race last year with a surprise victory for Eurokash (Love You), with Muscle Mountain electing to go into the Rowe Cup in a fresh state.

With Just Believe nowhere to be seen in tonight’s G2 feature, the Hope’s elected to give their stable star a much needed confidence boost and the giant son of Muscle Hill duly delivered.

Time and time again the 2200m stand at Alexandra Park has tripped up many a grand circuit horse, and despite their being just six trotters in the contest, the race posed to be a tactical affair with the likes of Oscar Bonavena starting from equal back marks with Muscle Mountain as well as the new Uassie raider on the scene, Kyvalley Hotspur (Muscle Hill).

Last years Rowe Cup winner, Love N The Port (Love You) and All Cashed Up (Ready Cash) took turns setting about making the back markers work in the early going, with the latter finding the top with a mile left to run.

The back markers were safely away, but found it hard to take much ground off the leaders for the first lap of the race.

Muscle Mountain, the winner of 32 races heading into tonight’s Anzac Cup was by no means given an easy time of things from his 15m handicap having to sit parked for the last lap of the race.

Despite taking the last bend rather awkwardly, once balanced up, he ultimately applied his superiority en route to an easy two length victory at the finish over Oscar Bonavena with a further 3/4 of a length back to Love N The Port in third.

“It was a great run, he felt super and while it was a small field, it’s still never easy here and to win off a handicap like he did tonight, full credit to Mum and Dad they have been doing a super job with him and I’m very happy with the result,” said Hope.

“It’s not going to be easy next week as everyone knows but he’s in good form and you still have to be in it to win it and we will be trying our best.

“We are going to be needing a bit of luck, especially when you start off the unruly against a horse like Just believe. We are going to need a few things to go our way, and a few things to not go his way,” he laughed.

MUSCLE MOUNTAIN REPLAY

Muscle Mountain completed the 2200m journey in a time of 2:46.6, with a mile rate of 2:01.8 and closing sectionals of 58.4 and 28.7.

The Group Two success was the 18th at Group level for Muscle Mountain, who will look to win his first two mile Group One in next Friday night’s time honoured Rowe Cup.

For complete Alexandra Park results, click here.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink