Bruce Negus is going with the tried and true to try and get himself a Methven Cup winner, even if it was forced upon him.
The Burnham horseman was kicked in the hand a few weeks back by a horse and conscious of the head strong nature of his star pacer Quick As A Trick he decided it was probably best if the horse went somewhere else while his injury healed.
So Robert and John Dunn got the call up and Quick As A Trick returned to life at the beach – a scenario he has enjoyed before albeit in a slightly cooler climate.
“He did a lot of work on the beach when he was down South and seemed to really thrive on it,” Negus said.
“I was a bit worried about him doing something silly one day at home and with my hand not being able to keep him under full control, I’m only just starting to drive some of the nice natured horses now.
“So I asked John to take him home the night after his last race. He’d also just started to develop a few corns, which he has had in the past, so I’m hoping being on the sand has helped them out too.”
A Methven Green Mile winner in the past, there’s no concerns about handling the track conditions at Methven this week for Quick As A Trick and the reports from Woodend Beach have been very encouraging.
“John said he’s very happy with him, his work has been good and he had a nice quiet run at the workouts at Methven last weekend.
“We’ve found he actually races better when he hasn’t had a hard run the week before.
“But we will need to be on top of our game because this is a very good Methven Cup field.”
Headlined by the All Stars duo of Titan Banner and Smolda, the $35,000 Group Three feature has drawn a deep field.
Greg and Nina Hope will be represented by two strong chances in Mossdale Conner, another former Green Mile winner, and also Seel The Deal is resuming after a minor wind operation.
He was very impressive winning a heat at the Methven workouts last weekend.
Cran Dalgety also has a strong hand in the race with Mighty Flying Mac and also Fifth Edition.
The real talk point of the race though is the entry of trotter, Valmagne.
Scotch Tar’s run in the New Zealand Trotting Cup of 1982 was the last time a trotter raced in a black type race in New Zealand so it’s been a long time in between drinks.
Negus also has Arya in action tomorrow in a strong fillies and mares’ trotting feature.
“It’s D-Day for her tomorrow,” he said.
“Her foals are going to be worth a lot more than what she will ever make on the track so we are better off looking after that.
“In saying that though I do think she’s ready to start to show some real form, there’s been a bit of improvement there.”
The race features Quite A Moment, Harriet Of Mot and Habibti in what is a very strong race for the female trotters.
Super Selector – Methven
Race 1: Rusty I Am, Shona Mary, Lola Leigh, Ed Wood
Race 2: Beach Skipper, Maninthemirror, Scotlyn Harry, Fiery Su
Race 3: Young Stranger, Dream Big, Stylish Duke, Shadow Galleon
Race 4: Boults On Fire, Fire One, Ireby Meg, Smouldering Ashes
Race 5: James Dean, All Star Magician, Flash Boy, Likely Jereme
Race 6: Mysistersastar, Hall Of Fame, Jonty James, Motu Lightning Lass
Race 7: Sparkling Delight, Yankee Tara, Rocki Warrior, Wozniacki
Race 8: Harriet Of Mot, Quite A Moment, Habibti, Arya
Race 9: Mossdale Conner, Smolda, Titan Banner, Seel The Deal
Race 10: Mighty Empire, Mach’s Terminator, Bettor Be Smooth, Gypsy’s Choice
Race 11: Smarter VC, Bank Raider, Franco Texas, Dalness Mac
Best Bet: Beach Skipper (Race 2)
Value: Mossdale Conner (Race 9)
Matt Markham