Emerging NZ star lining up in Casey Classic

Emerging New Zealand harness racing star Dont Stop Dreaming (Bettor’s Delight) will land in Victoria on Wednesday ahead of his tilt at the TAB Summer of Glory.

The Mark and Nathan Purdon-trained four-year-old will have his first start across the ditch in Saturday night’s Allied Express Casey Classic at Melton as a lead-in to a hopeful run in the SENTrack A G Hunter Cup a week later.

The gun Kiwi youngster is already a winner of more than half a million dollars in stakes from just 16 starts, with his 12 wins including four at Group 1 level.

He has drawn barrier eight for the Casey Classic where he will take on the likes of Better Eclipse (one), Bulletproof Boy (two), Hurricane Harley (four) and Serg Blanco (five).

Saturday night’s blockbuster meeting at headquarters received an added boost when Just Believe was a late nomination for the Betavet V L Dullard Trotters Cup.

The Jess Tubbs-trained megastar backs up from his dominant victory in last weekend’s The Knight Pistol at Ballarat.

Just Believe will then run for a third straight Saturday night when he contests the Yabby Dam Farms Great Southern Star on February 3.

His rivals in the Dullard include Sultan Sass (one), Keayang Xena (two), Mufasa Metro (three), Ollivici (four) and Queen Elida (six).

TAB Eureka champion Encipher returns to the races for the first time since early November in the Alabar Bloodstock Ladyship Cup, while the VHRC Caduceus 3YO Classic has drawn a cracking field of emerging young pacers.

For complete race entries, click here.

by Tim O’Connor, for Harness Racing Victoria