Hill still king of the kids
VETERAN harness racing trainer Paul Hill reaffirmed his status as the king of the kids when he snared the feature two-year-old double at Luxbet Park Hobart last night.
Hill prepared star filly Ideal Bliss to win his third consecutive Group 3 Evicus Stakes final and his handy colt Feelin Dusty led throughout to give Hill his second Dandy Patch from the past three editions.
“I’ve been very fortunate to have had some very talented young horses in my care in recent years and I’m hoping this isn’t the end of my good run,” Hill said. “Ideal Bliss is a very good filly and I have no doubt she will develop into a very good three-year-old.
“I also have a decent opinion of Feelin Dusty and when he drew gate two I rated him a top chance of winning, even though the wraps were big on Todd Rattray’s horse [Izaha].
“When Ricky [Duggan] was able to lead and not spend too much early on Feelin Dusty I was confident my horse would be very hard to beat and that’s how it panned out.”
Ideal Bliss, owned and bred by Charlie and Connie Beadman, was sent out the $1.40 favourite despite drawing the inside of the second row.
However, her driver Rohan Hillier snagged her out the back at the start to ensure he could find a spot in the one-out line, while Inwil ($8) showed good speed to lead. Hillier sent Ideal Bliss around the field at the bell and when he moved alongside the leader at the top of the home straight she forged clear but had to pull out all stops to fend off Inwil, who made a late charge, with Jeanette Barry a close-up third.
Feelin Dusty ($2.30 fav) showed brilliant gate speed to easily hold the front in the Dandy Patch while Run Wick ($11) faced the breeze with Izaha ($2.40) on his back enjoying the one out, one back position. But a lap out, and unhappy with the tempo, Rattray sent Izaha up to face the breeze and put some pressure on the leader and they drew away to fight out the finish.
Feelin Dusty (American Ideal-Blissfull Grace) responded when Duggan called on the gelded son of Mister Feelgood for the big effort and he went on to score by more than 10m from Izaha with Pezzamystic more than 15m away third.