The excitement surrounding the untapped Triedtotellia is enormous and still growing.
It was further fueled by the five-year-old’s spellbinding victory in the Doug Martin Danbury Park Cup in Launceston last Sunday.
The arrogance and ease of victory after messing up the start and giving away about 50 meters to the leaders was something to behold.
It underlined trainer-driver Rohan Hillier’s ambition to compete in the Brisbane Inter Dominion series next year.
“We actually nominated him for the Inter Dominion this year and wanted to go, but he was so far down the rankings that we had to race him to try to get above the cut-off and that took its toll,” Hillier said.
“Hopefully this year they think about him a little more and he’s higher up (in the rankings). We’d like to give it a try.
“I take a line through another Tassie horse like Nyack and he is competitive at that top level when he is at the top of his game. I am sure Triedtotellia is at least as good as he is.”
Triedtotellia was bred and raced by the Howlett clan, but they sent him to Hillier after a few tendon injuries.
Therefore, the gelding has only ridden 22 times, good for 16 wins, three seconds and a third.
“I was lucky enough to get Ryley Major back from a serious tendon injury and I think they (the Howletts) were hoping I could do the same with this horse,” Hillier said.
“I’m probably better prepared for it. I train near the beach and I also have a pool for them to swim in.”
“So far so good. During the last campaign I always kept in mind that the problem could flare up again, but this time he hasn’t been crippled and he shows no signs of a problem.”
Ryley Major, who missed almost three years of racing from 2016 to 2019 due to his tendon injury, returned to become a star in Tasmania.
He retired in early 2023 with a remarkable record of 77 starts for 35 wins, 33 placings and $416,873.
As special as Ryley Major was to Hillier, he doesn’t hesitate to say Triedtotellia is a level above him.
“Another gravy, that’s what he is,” he said. “He is by far the best and most talented horse I have ever dealt with.
“If Ryley had missed the score, as this horse did last Sunday, I would have had to chase him all the way, but Triedtotellya pulled me back into the race.
“The speed he has is unbelievable. They went back 27.4 seconds last night and he accelerated from there and cleared a lot of ground.
“He also has depth. He’s a good stayer with a great pulse.”
“I’m sure he will be competitive with the good horses. The only question is whether he can take that next step and we won’t know until we try.”
Before then, Hillier is focusing on a few more big wins in his own backyard.
The $40,000 Hobart Pacing Cup is on January 11 and Tasmania’s only Group 1 running race, the $150,000 Ladbrokes Tasmania Cup final, is on February 28.
Through Adam Hamiltonfor Harness Racing Australia
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