Terror To Love jogs into the Grand Final

YOU COULD hardly call it exciting, but Terror To Love did what he had to do to ensure himself a spot in the Inter Dominion Grand Final on March 2, with a pedestrian-like win in last night’s Addington heat.

And while many will scoff at the performance, and say it was a victory handed to the connections of the three-time New Zealand Trotting Cup winner, the camp behind the champ smiled from ear to ear.

Trainer Graham Court who trains in partnership with son, Paul, summed it up in one simple word. ‘‘Perfect,’’ he said. ‘‘He’s in pretty good nick at the moment, now we just need a marble.’’

Driver Ricky May gave the performance a big tick as well.

From his one draw, Terror To Love, who brought up $2 million in stakes with the victory, was always going to lead. The only question was whether or not his main rival, Smolda, would be able to beat him for speed up the sprint lane.

At the end of the day he wasn’t, as Terror To Love reeled off his last 400m in 25.6, the fastest ever recorded at Addington. Jivin Cullen finished third. Meanwhile, at Menangle in Sydney, where the second 2400-metre heat was run on a rain-affected track, a former stablemate of Terror To Love, Seel N Print, staged a huge upset when he ran down Miracle Mile-winner Beautide and Kiwi-owned The Gold Ace. Seel N Print, bred and sold by Terror To Love’s owner Terry McDonald in 2010 as a maiden, was at odds of more than 62 to one.

At Melton, in Melbourne, Keayang Cullen got up to beat hot favourite Restrepo in the last stride in a new track record mile rate of 1:53.1 for the mobile 2240 metres. Wartime Sweetheart also qualified for the final by running third.