Hidden Talent wins Trotters Cup

You couldn’t have scripted it better for Hidden Talent (Bacardi Lindy) in today’s Temuka Transport Limited Kurow Trotters Cup at Oamaru.

The six year old mare shared the 40 metre handicap with Jimmy Carter so she was giving nearly all her rivals a good head start in the 2600 metre feature trot.

The six year old mare was back early with the roughly gaited Missile making the pace.

Inside the last 600 metres Williamson was able to get onto the back of favourite Bring On The Muscles and got a nice cart into the business end of the race.

Both Bring On The Muscle and Hidden Talent wore down Missile with Hidden Talent winning by a neck.

HIDDEN TALENT REPLAY

“It worked out great,” Williamson said adding, “She’s wintered well and come back in good form. I thought she might have needed the run today.”

After showing talent as a young horse Williamson says the now six year old has finally matured.

“She’s been a bit frail but she’s looking like a mare now.”

Punters were told via Trackside that Hidden Talent was in season for today’s race but Williamson wasn’t concerned.

“She’s been in season all week. We thought yesterday she was coming right but this morning once we got to the races she was still hot on. She’d worked well all week that way so it didn’t concern me too much.”

Hidden Talent will now head to Addington and race in the Ordeal Cup and will then start in the DG Jones/Banks Peninsula Trotting Cup.

Williamson says Hidden Talent had also been nominated for November’s Dominion Handicap.

“It’s a better system now because you don’t have to keep paying (instalments). That makes a good deal of difference. Hopefully she can get up the rankings and get there. She’s in that grade now and there’s nowhere to hide. So she has to step up.”

Hidden Talent has only had twenty nine starts over four seasons.

“She was super talented early. Through the spring as a four year old she did things wrong and wasn’t really handling herself. It was a wee bit the same last spring and it took til the summer for her to show how good she was again. She is a bigger strong mare than what she’s been before.”

Williamson has had some talented trotting mares through his stable, including Dark Horse and Poppymalda.

“Dark Horse had ultra ability and Poppymalda had the all-round game, but she was unsound. I’m not going to knock her, (Hidden Talent) but I think those other mares may have had a touch more class.”

Meanwhile Williamson was happy with the run of Dreams Are Free in today’s Kurow Pacing Cup.

“He felt terrific and has come back really well. It’s just the standing starts. I think he’s been a bit fresh. He was fresh the other day at the workouts, and he missed away. He definitely felt strong at the end which is a good sign going forward. If he’d got a run it would have been interesting because I never got the earplugs out and he was still full of running.”

Dreams Are Free will also travel to Addington and race on Ordeal Cup night.

“If he goes really well there, we may look at putting him in one of the big races.”

When pressed about a start in the IRT New Zealand Cup, Williamson says that call will be made in the next few days.

For complete race results, click here.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink