Gotcha; Hectorjayjay surges to victory in the Gr.1 $200,000 UBET Blacks A Fake at Albion Park Photo by Dan Costello
Brilliant Victorian pacer Hectorjayjay etched his name into the record books.
Prepared by David Aiken and driven by his son Josh, Hectorjayjay produced an electric finish to land the Gr.1 $200,000 UBET Blacks A Fake Queensland Championship defeating My Field Marshal and Tiger Tara at Albion Park tonight (Saturday).
The come from behind victory matched his all the way success seven days earlier in the Sunshine Sprint, therefore claiming the two open class Sunshine State winter carnival features.
The last horse to achieve the feat was Im Themightyquinn back in 2014.
Under a rain soaked Brisbane skyline, the Blacks A Fake promised to be a fascinating contest and it didn’t disappoint.
Race favourite Tiger Tara pushed forward from his favourable draw soon after the start before taking the lead from Major Crocker who initially led the 2680m feature.
Shortly after handing the lead over, Major Crocker was eased out of the contest owing to his sulky being contacted.
Tiger Tara posted a lead time of 79.7 seconds.
With Tiger Tara controlling the speed, star pacer Lennytheshark was left racing on his outside after working off the inside while My Field Marshal landed a perfect trail behind Lennytheshark.
The first quarter of the final mile was covered in 29.5 seconds
But the extreme pressure was still to come.
With a lap remaining, Tiger Tara was turned loose on the lead and forced the pressure with the middle half covered in 27.7 and 27.4 seconds.
Heading past the 400m marker, Tiger Tara led the way from a game Lennytheshark who continued to match him while My Field Marshal, Mr Mojito and Hectorjayjay staged sweeping moves from back in the pack.
At the top of the straight, Tiger Tara led the way but closers were coming thick and fast.
Hectorjayjay was the widest runner in the straight but he powered down the outside to beat My Field Marshal by a long neck with the same margin separating Tiger Tara in third.
The final quarter was timed in 29.1 seconds.
The mile rate was 1:56.1 – the same time recorded by Im Themightyquinn when successful three years earlier.
“This is a massive thrill and that was a great race because the pressure was on from start to finish, I knew I would come into at some point and thankfully when arrived in time.” Winning driver Josh Aiken said.
Twelve months earlier, Hectorjayjay was a runner-up in this event behind Ohoka Punter.
Hectorjayjay is raced by Matt McLellan, Earl Sakareassen, Mick Harvey, Jane Hughes, Luke & Paul Stokie and Gareth Hall.
The 2016/17 Australian Pacing Gold Grand Circuit season is now complete and New Zealand superstar Lazarus is the champion after amassing 240 points throughout the term.
Lazarus finished well clear of his stablemate Smolda (185), Hectorjayjay (175) and Bling It On (165).
