When Victorian reject Bisping arrived at Rohan Hillier's Beauty Point harness racing stables in the north of the state last year the expectations weren't great, after all the horse had been tried by his former owners who tired of his antics in races.
But since arriving in Tasmania the gelding has been consistent and in Launceston last Sunday night he delivered a career best effort to win the Harry Holgate Memorial final over 2200 metres.
The Somebeachsomewhere gelding did it tough facing the breeze but in the end he made light of the task and forged clear over the concluding stages to win comfortably from Olivers Mate and Sir Dasher Dee with race leader One Mans Pass hanging on for fourth.
In Victoria, while in the care of top trainer Emma Stewart, Bisping had been breaking gait in his races and it looked as if he might be dispatched to a life of roaming the paddocks but in stepped prominent Victorian reinsman Gavin Lang.
Bisping's part-owner Brett Collins said the back story to how they came by Bisping was interesting, to say the least.
"Gavin (Lang) called Rohan about a year ago to suggest we try the horse because he had been driving him and said he wasn't hopeless."
"We'd been looking to buy a horse from New Zealand but when he failed a vet test the sale fell through so we were looking for a replacement.
Collins and Hiller took Lang's advice and the gelding has proven to be a very good money spinner.
Bisping, who is also part-owned by the trainer's wife Katrina Hillier, has had 14 starts in Tasmania for four wins and eight minor placings and has finished no further back that fifth for stake earnings of about $28,000.
"Rohan (Hillier) changed the length of his hopples when he first started racing here (Tasmania) and the horse hasn't looked back since," Collins said.
Peter Staples