Belle Biddy dominant in $100,000 Group 1 at Alexandra Park

By Michael Guerin

You have to be a pretty special juvenile filly to outshine some of the best open class pacers and trotters in the country on the night they return. Belle Biddy did just that at Alexandra Park on Friday night.

The Tony Herlihy-trained and driven two-year-old destroyed her rivals in the $100,000 Caduceus Club Classic, becoming a Group 1 winner at just her fourth start.

The writing had been on the wall with a massive last-start second to Daisy Bay in a Sires’ Stakes heat but the punters who backed her so heavily into favouritism this time had no concerns as she was sent straight to the lead by Herlihy and the race was all over at the 400m before she tore home in 27.5 seconds to suggest she might be the best of this crop of this stage.

“She is so relaxed she was just cruising along out there but when I chirped her up at the 400m she really accelerated so I just let her run,” said Herlihy.

“So we will head south with her next,” he said of the daughter of Bettors Delight.

She was so dazzling she maybe outshone the remarkable veteran American Me when he took out the IRT Spring Cup.

On a night where the Alexandra Park track played fast and good horses were hard to catch the wonderful nine-year-old stepped straight to the lead from his 10m handicap and was beautifully handled by his latest trainer Matty White.

He powered up the straight like a horse three or four years younger to hold off the Purdon/Phelan trio of Better Knuckle Up, Jeremiah and Merlin, the latter never really a chance in a single file race.

The Purdon/Phelan team still had a great night though as Higher Power blew away most of the north’s best trotters in their comeback race.

He made light work of his 10m handicap to lead and while favourite Hillbilly Blues galloped back in the field at the 800m and a few others never got into the race, it is hard to believe they would have beaten Higher Power the way he went for Harry Orange.

He looks to have strengthened and added manners and is clearly now an open class force, especially at this stage over the shorter trips and being a four-year-old has so much ahead of him.

Earlier in the night they also trained Bamm Bamm to stun punters in the Sires’ Stakes boy’s heat with a punishing win after that man again Harry Orange drove him like the best horse in the race even if he wasn’t before it.

The son of Tall Dark Stranger is owned by the Next Gen Montana Syndicate, obviously put together by Dean Shannon, and they are off to the Sires’ Stakes Final at Addington on Cup Day as Bamm Bamm went to a whole new level.

He showed gate speed to lead and unleashed a 54.8 second last 800m to shoot clear at the 400m and then hold off Coal Fire and Lucky Luka, with the favourite having to have paced one of the fastest last 800m ever at Alexandra Park by a two-year-old to get so close.

And Nazare showed the benefit is having a removable hood added when he led, concentrated better and exploded clear of his rivals to suggest a trip south for the major three-year-old races, including the New Zealand Derby must be getting closer to become reality for trainer Arna Donnelly.