Gus came within 40 meters and saw all his rivals making a start. Gus started safely, but settled back at the back of the field.
The very capable but unreliable Not As Promised started brilliantly from his 20 meter handicap to take over from Masterly who also showed great speed early on.
GUS FEB 7 REPEAT
Not As Promised put on a sound display at the front and seemed likely to be the biggest danger as he rode freely with the others in an attempt to keep in touch.
Golden Sunset started to make up some ground on the back straight, with Pete McMullen on Gus issuing his challenge three wide on the straight. He sprinted so fast that he had the leaders at home at the top of the straight and he won without extra time by five meters from Not As Promised with Hide and Seek in third.
But proof of how good Gus is was the new track record of 1.59.5 for 3157 meters.
Gus appears to have returned better than ever after his Dominion Trotters and Free For All wins in Christchurch in November, the only Australian-trained trotter to achieve the feat.
Gus will be prepared for the Group 1 Hammerhead Mile at Menangle on March 14, where he may clash with the country’s leading trotter, Keayang Zahara. He may also go to Cambridge in New Zealand for the Final Classic. Ultimately, these two great trotters will most likely meet at this year’s Inter Dominion, held at Gus’ home track, Albion Park. And with the level of improvement he has shown, he has proven himself to be a worthy opponent to Keayang Zahara, who is truly testing material for trotters in Australia.
By Tony Milanese for Harnesslink
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