Major Secret delivers in $50,000 Tasmania Cup

Victorian pacer Major Secret delivered everything expected of him to easily win the harness racing Group 2 $50,000 Tasmania Cup in Hobart on Friday night.

Major Secret settled just beyond midfield his wide second-row draw but after travelling less than a lap his driver, international reinsman Sidney Van Den Brande, allowed the seven-year-old Art Major stallion more rein and he quickly rounded up the leaders and strolled to the front.

When Van Den Brande gave the stallion one flick with the persuader he bounded clear and went on to score almost 19 metres from Roger Ramjet ($21) with No Spring Secrets ($34) over two metres away third and just in advance of Mister Lennox ($21).

The Emma Stewart-trained stallion started the $1.22 favourite and many punters rated that a luxury price given what the gelding did to similar opposition at his previous start in Tasmania when an effortless winner of the City of Launceston Cup earlier this month.

Stewart did not attend the meeting but Van Den Brande said Major Secret was bound for some of the better country cups at home in Victoria.

"I have no doubt Emma (Stewart) has some big country cups in mind for the horse because he is very smart as he showed tonight," Van Den Brande said.

"It was a very easy assignment for him tonight because once we rolled to the front he was never going to be seriously challenged."

Major Secret covered the 2579 metres in 3m.11.4 for a mile rate of 1.59.4 but he ran home his last half (800m) in 56.6.

Van Den Brande has been in Australia for 15 months and for the past six months he has been aligned to the Emma and Clayton Stewart stable

The Belgium-born reinsman has driven in five countries but rates Australia the best.

"I am very happy here and I have been given the opportunity to drive some very good horses and this one (Major Secret is the best."

Peter Staples