There will be plenty of hometown support for Kembla Grange-trained Hope In Your Heart but trainer Kerry Parker will put the mare on a float for a drive on Saturday before the $1 million The Gong to let her know it is race day.
The quality mare has won a listed race and a group 3 this preparation but has only raced once in 18 starts on her home track – and when she ran second in the Kembla Grange Classic earlier in the year it was held at Goulburn.
Hope In Your Heart looks for another hometown victory in The Gong at Kembla Grange on Saturday. Credit:Getty
“She does all her work here, but race day she has been getting a float all of her life,” Parker said. “We probably will put her on the float and take her for a bit of drive.
“She has bypassed Kembla and went straight to town after Goulburn, which is a good thing because it means she is pretty good.
“It means we don’t really have a home-ground advantage, but we want to keep The Gong here.”
Hope In Your Heart will be out to emulate Kembla-trained Count De Rupee, which kept The Gong (1600m) on the south coast last year.
Hope In Your Heart’s only race on home turf came at her second career start when she was easily held. From there she went to Canberra and Nowra before her first win came at Moruya when she returned as a three-year-old.
For Parker, it was a case of building up Hope In Your Heart’s strength and getting her racing style correct. That has paid dividends this preparation, and he can only see improvement into the future.
“She was a bit fiery as a young horse and just wanted to get out and lead and was a little weak so couldn’t hold on,” Parker said. “Those runs were part of the making of her.
“When she came back as a three-year-old, she had relaxed and would settle, which allowed her to get back and show her turn of foot.
“All she has done is get stronger, and she still has some maturing to do. I can see her being better next year.”
The Gong, where Hope In Your Heart is a $7.50 chance and likely to challenge for favouritism by post time, will complete a preparation that has brought wins in the Tibbie Stakes and Angst Stakes and a game fourth in the Golden Eagle.
“She has fulfilled everything we dreamt of in this preparation. She has won a couple of black-type races, and her fourth in the Golden Eagle last time was outstanding because she was chasing a long way from home,” Parker said.
“This was the race we wanted to get too if everything went right, and it has. I think she can be very competitive because she will enjoy a hard-run mile.
“I just hope they go hard enough for her to get home late. It would be nice to keep the race in Kembla again, even if we have to trick her into thinking she is somewhere else.”
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