Hewitt aims for a double barrel on Summer of Glory

In-form NSW coach Brad Hewitt is planning a two-pronged attack with his two stable stars in Victoria’s revamped Summer of Glory.

And it starts from the first of six meetings in Bendigo on January 10.

Hewitt said his former Inter Dominion-winning trotter The Locomotive and flying open-class pacer Captains Knock would tackle the two events in Bendigo.

The Locomotive, who returned from a lengthy spell with victory at Menangle last Saturday, looks set to clash for the first time with the brilliant young mare Keayang Zahara in the $100,000 Group 1 Maori Mile.

While Captains Knock’s is targeting the $75,000 Group 2 Bendigo Cup, which means a likely showdown with recent Victoria and NZ Cup winner Kingman.

Captains Knock was a competitive player on the Grand Circuit last year, but took it to a new level with five straight victories.

Two of those have taken part in the first two legs of the NSW Carnival of Cups, which carries a potential $1 million bonus if he wins all five legs.

The latest of these was an effortless victory in the Steel City Cup at Newcastle last Friday evening.

“There is now a gap until the third stage and this horse is thriving in racing, so it fits well to have a few races in Melbourne next month,” Hewitt said.

“He’s really in the zone right now and he’s so versatile with his speed and strength.”

The third leg is the $60,000 Gold Rush Cup in Bathurst on January 30.

“Unfortunately the fourth leg is in Albury on February 13, the night before the Hunter Cup, so we can’t do both,” Hewitt said.

‘But Bendigo makes sense and even Shepparton the following week is also an option.

“The locomotive will be going down for a few of the harness races. Our main target is the Great Southern Star (February 14), but we will experience a few of the lead-up races there,” Hewitt said.

The Locomotive brilliantly won its Great Southern Star heat earlier this year before finishing second to winner Watts Up Partytime in the final.

Trainer Marg Lee confirmed the Maori Mile was the next big target for Keayang Zahara after securing her 10^e Group 1’s win from just 21 started at last Saturday evening’s $150,000 Great Square at Albion Park.

But it’s unlikely her brilliant stablemate Jilliby Ballerini will be up for it.

“She had a bit of a problem after the last run in New Zealand, which may be why she didn’t go as well as hoped,” she said. “We’ve given her a little extra time to get there, so if she does get into any of those Victorian races it would only be the later ones.”

Hewitt admitted the clash with Keayang Zahara would be a new challenge for The Locomotive.

“It’s fair to say the bar has been raised since winning that Inter Dominion this time last year, especially with the emergence of Keayang Zahara,” he said.

Through Adam Hamiltonfor Harness Racing New Zealand