Mr Love out to restore his reputation in sprint feature

Forget Mr Love’s (Love You) last start shocker heading into Monday’s Tactical Landing Trotter’s Sprint at Ashburton (4.03pm).

Because while a mobile 1700m may hardly be the ideal trip for the Rowe Cup winner, harness racing co-trainer Ben Hope says one thing is for certain.

“He will go better than last start because that wasn’t his fault,” he says of Mr Love’s Addington failure.

Mr Love finished 12th of 16 that night but was coughing in the stabling area after the race and that didn’t really clear up for over a week.

“So he wasn’t right and we gave him plenty of time to get over that,” explains Hope.

“We then took him to the workouts and he was really good so we think you will see him back to something like his best on Monday, but still with some improvement in him for Cup week.”

Hope and his father Greg know all about winning the race having won four of the last five versions with the now-retired Muscle Mountain.

“Mr Love actually ran third to Muscle Mountain in this race last season but he isn’t a natural sprinter like he was and he also doesn’t have his gate speed.

“So we’d only expect him to hold his own out of the gate on Monday but in saying that this field isn’t as strong as some of the recent versions of this race.”

That is for sure, with big recent improver Prestigious still new to open class but opening the $2.15 favourite in a field lacking form as well about half of our best trotters who are waiting for NZ Cup week.

The Hopes also have Midnight Dash in the race and he has to be at least a place chance because he is proven at this level while the headscratcher for punters is Hillbilly Blues.

He was the form trotter of the north last summer but has been all over the place this campaign and is now on the unruly over the mobile 1700m, hence his $15 price for one of the better trotters in the country.

If he can concentrate, behave and show anything like his best he can win but it is still an unenviable task coming from back in the field in any Ashburton sprint.

His driver Tony Herlihy will have to do the same with both his exciting juveniles Lucky Luka (R6, No.13) and Belle Biddy (R8, No.15).

“They both had to draw badly under the conditions of their races because they had already won heats of the series,” explains Herlihy.

“It does make it hard and Belle Biddy in particular will be better for her run but they will both need luck from there, especially over the short trips.”

Lucky Luka’s task is made even more difficult by Tour Party drawing well and likely to lead in the juvenile boys heat but Belle Biddy is so talented she might be one of the few all day who can work from the second line and still win and at $6.50 it is worth having a few dollars on to find out.

One of Monday’s other real highlights on the stacked card is the Hambletonian in which some talented three-year-old trotters clash.

Imperious Girl (R5, No.4) is the filly to beat if she races up to her last start Addington win but the Phil Williamson-trained stablemates Becky’s Girl and Redback Bob both have the talent to continue winning too while Kawatiri Trev is a good stayer but faces starting on the unruly.

To see Monday’s fields at Ashburton click here

by Michael Guerin, for Harness Racing New Zealand