Heath Woods continues excellent Tassie feature race strike rate

Custom Harley delivered another feature race win for his Broadmash-based trainer-driver Heath Woods when claiming the Group 3 Nutrien Ag Solutions Globe Derby Final (2200m) in Launceston on Sunday afternoon.

Smooth Machete ($1.26 fav) was crossed early by Vincenzo ($8) with Woods pressing on to find the lead with Custom Harley near the mile.

From there, Woods controlled the race and was always holding his rivals late to score by 4.3m over Vincenzo, with Stranded Lollipop ($8.50) a further 1.5m away third in a mile rate of 1:59.9s.

“Things worked out well for him, and he did the job for us.

“The plan was always to come out and have a look and see what was going on. But I thought there might have been a chance that Smooth Machete could be crossed,” said Woods.

Custom Harley has now won seven of his 17 starts, including four wins from 10 tries this season.

“He has been going good and always gets that bit better with each run and when each month rolls by. He is still maturing and was a bit green early. For some unknown reason, he puts in an ordinary run. I’m not too sure if that’s maturity or inexperience, but he is strong and likes to be up there bowling along. That seems to be his preferred racing pattern.

“We bred his mother (Paris Art) and bred him, so it was very satisfying,” Woods said about the A Rocknroll Dance gelding.

“He will go to the Tasmanian Guineas (in Hobart on Sunday), and then we will have a look at what’s on after that. That was only his fourth run this time back in,” said the trainer-driver.

Woods took a break from training for several years before returning in the 2018/19 season. Since then, he has won a Tasmania Cup, Easter Cup, Golden Apple, and now a Globe Derby.

Lady moves best in Bandbox

On breeding alone Moveslikealady has a lot to live up to, being the younger full sister of former star Tasmanian pacer Ryley Major.

The Art Major filly won her second race on Sunday, and by far her biggest when she recorded a 14.9m win in the 6ty Bandbox Final (2200m).

There was plenty of action during the first 1100m of the race, with the three main chances all wanting to race on speed.

Rohan Hiller, trainer-driver of Moveslikealady, was happy to sit behind the leader before ending up three back the pegs near the 1100m.

When the gaps appeared near the 450m, Hillier made the most of the clear racing to get the filly out and running. She ran on to the scene with fresh legs and sprinted past those who had done the early burn.

She won by a significant margin over Shes A Tiny Dancer ($2.25), who was subsequently disqualified after racing inside the final five pylons. Swiatek Leis ($2.20) was promoted to second, and Chenin Beach ($41) finished third in a mile rating of 1:58.8s.

“Going to the races, I was hoping that she would run top five, but if you asked me if her work had been good enough, I would have said she could win. She has never ever taken her track work to the races,” said Hillier.

“As a two-year-old, I did tell a few people that she was better than Ryley Major, but she has been embarrassing at the races.

“Before today, I had been thinking about sending her to someone else to try something different for her.

“I’ll run her on Sunday in the Three Year Old Fillies Championship, and then she can go the paddock for a while,” the trainer-driver explained.