By Michael Guerin
Hot And Treacherous made it back into the winner’s circle for the first time this campaign at Alexandra Park on Friday but that pathway is about to get a lot steeper.
Because in a surprise move, and bonus for the Alexandra Park Christmas carnival, dual New Zealand Cup winner Copy That will return to Alexandra Park next Friday.
Trainer Ray Green has confirmed the last-start Cup winner is set to race next week and then twice more at Alexandra Park on December 16 and New Year’s Eve in $50,000 races.
“He has come back from Christchurch really well and is ready to go again and he doesn’t take anything out of himself racing,” says Green.
“So he will run in three races there in the next six weeks and then head to Australia for the Ballarat Cup, Hunter Cup and Miracle Mile.”
That will make life that little bit harder for Hot And Treacherous, who made it career win No.11 when making light work of his outside of the front line draw in the main pace on what was almost all-mile night at Alexandra Park.
Driver Maurice McKendry took bad luck out of play early when he went forward and wrested the lead off Mimi E Coco after 400m and while Taipo tried hard in second place the result was never in doubt.
Hot And Treacherous stopped the clock at 1:55.4, the final 800m in 56.3 to justify his very short quote for trainers Brian and Gareth Hughes.
A race earlier Green won a small but select two-year-old race with Frankie Major, who like Hot And Treacherous could have so easily been racing in the Group 1s at Addington last week.
Green elected to miss the Sires’ Stakes Final and instead he also overcame starting from the outside of the front line to win in similar fashion in 1:56.5.
Kings Landing won the main trot beating stablemate Invictus, the son of Muscle Hill recording the ninth win of his career.
