Talented harness racing freshman Hillview Jake staked his claim on the Sweepstakes Final with an impressive heat win at Tattersall’s Park Hobart last night.
Hillview Jake led throughout from the pole to score by a metre-and-a-half from Pockets of Courage, with the odds-on favourite Riley Major six metres away third.
It was an impressive performance from the Paul Hill-trained youngster, which covered the 1609 metres in 1:58.4 – with his time only a half-second outside of Make a Memory’s age and sex record on the Hobart circuit.
Hill was delighted with the performance and believes his well-bred two-year-old only needs a front-row draw to take out the decider in a fortnight.
Hillview Jake has won three of his four starts, including an impressive victory in the Golden Mile in Launceston.
“I couldn’t be happier with this horse and what he is showing at this stage is only a glimpse of what he might show when he fully grasps what this caper is all about,” Hill said.
“If he gets a front row draw in the Final the others will definitely know they’ve been in a race.”
The remaining heat was won by the Rohan Hillier-trained Soho Shanghai, which proved too strong for Timely Sovereign and Masters Ace in 2:05.6.
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PETER STAPLES