Kyneton trainer Neil Dyer could have three runners in the $200,000 Darwin Cup (2050m) at Fannie Bay on August 7.
Dyer, who made his first Top End trip in 2008, will most likely see Kaonic and Mohican Heights contest the NT’s biggest race, but Hettinger has entered the equation.
The four-year-old gelding made it three wins from four NT starts with victory over 1600m (0-66) last Saturday as Dyer kicked off the 2023 Darwin Carnival in grand style.
Jumping from a wide gate, Hettinger ($10 with horse betting sites) settled on the fence in second place behind runaway leader Marvelous Night before kicking clear in the home straight to win by two lengths.
The son of I Am Invincible hadn’t won a race in his first 16 starts before getting the cash at Alice Springs over 1400m (BM54) by 3.3 lengths on June 4.
Heading to Darwin, Hettinger crunched his rivals by 6.3 lengths on debut over 1600m (0-58) a fortnight later before finishing fourth over 1600m (0-64) on June 24.
Up next is the $60,000 Chief Minister’s Cup (1600m) on Saturday.
Darwin Cup prospects will line up in weight-for-age contest and the fact that all 10 runners will lump 59kg will test Hettinger, especially as he has also drawn the outside gate.
Aaron Sweeney partnered the horse last weekend, but is serving a one-week suspension and has been replaced by Stan Tsaikos – Kaonic’s rider en route to victory in the Bridge Toyota Cup (1600m) during last year’s Carnival.
Kaonic, an eight-year-old gelding, was fourth behind Highly Decorated in the 2021 Darwin Cup before finishing second behind Playoffs last year.
“Hettinger is going good – we purchased him on an on-line sale as he was Kaonic’s half-brother,” Dyer said.
“Because Kaonic can handle the dirt we were hoping that Hettinger would come up here and do the same – he’s showing a lot of dash on the track.
“If we had won one race for the Carnival with him I would have been happy and probably bring him back next year.
“We did purchase him as a sprinter, but he’s definitely getting the mile and looks like getting more you would think, so you don’t know where it’s all going to end up.”
Dyer, who has won three Darwin Cups with Hawks Bay (2011 and 2012) and Royal Request (2017), had no hesitation backing Hettinger up this weekend.
“Yeah, no worries, there’s nothing wrong with him – he’s fresh and as good as gold,” he said.
“He won’t have a saddle on his back this week, he’ll just swim and go on the walker.
“A Cup start is going to depend on his rating, but we’re going to take each run as it comes.
“You need one of those horses to come up every year when you bring a team up that can put a few together.
“You’re always hoping you’ve got one and we’ve been lucky enough that he came along this year.”
Hettinger, formerly trained by Michael Maroney in Melbourne and Kris Lees in Newcastle, has also raced in Victoria, NSW and Queensland.
Dyer was pleased to kick off Carnival with a win, but Kaonic disappointed last Saturday when sixth over 1600m (BM70) after a first up second in the Top End over 1300m (BM76) on June 24.
And apart from Hettinger, Mohican Heights will have his first Darwin start in the Chief Minister’s Cup after arriving from the Chris Waller stable.
“Kaonic raced a little bit below expectations, but he’s going around in the Bridge Toyota Cup next Wednesday,” Dyer said.
“We’re looking for a big improvement there.
“Mohican Heights has been purchased as a Darwin Cup horse and he trialed well.
“He went through the dirt really well and galloped good on the surface.
“He’s not a real robust horse, he was only 478kg when we purchased him and that’s about what he races at.
“It’s going to be interesting, but he’s got a motor as he has proved.
“David O’Callaghan – I’ve known him for 30 years – he knows what we do up here in Darwin and as it turned out we got the horse.
“We’re hoping that he can put a nice run in the Chief Minister’s Cup and get the ball rolling towards the Cup.”
Mohican Heights started his career in the UK where he raced at Ascot and Epsom before racing in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, with his last win over 1800m in open company at Eagle Farm in February.
The six-year-old gelding finished second behind High Emocean over 2500m at Flemington last September – former Melbourne Cup winner Vow And Declare was third.
Dyer has booked Perth-based jockey Alan Kennedy to ride Mohican Heights on Saturday.
“We had a couple of looks at Alan’s rides back in Perth and he rode Mohican Heights – got a feel for him – on Wednesday morning,” Dyer said.
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