Ben Hope - now a master trainer

[Chief Stipe]

Ben Hope worked the oracle on Pure Courage at his 58th start in the first at Addington last night.  Seems all the Woodenders plunged on the tote as well.

 

PURE COURAGE - authorisation of 1st placing was withheld until driver R Reekie (HE'S TOUGH) placed 4th, had viewed the replays and confirmed he did not wish to proceed with a protest after receiving interference from PURE COURAGE early in the run home. Driver C Wigg admitted a breach of Rule 869(3)(b) in that she drove carelessly when shifting ground and striking the sulky wheel of HE'S TOUGH early in the run home which punctured. After viewing the replays and hearing penalty submissions the Adjudicative Committee imposed a fine of $250. When questioned regarding the improved performance trainer B Hope advised that he had made several gear changes since acquiring the horse in recent weeks, in particular a change to the gelding's shoeing and was of the opinion that the horse had appreciated being able to work in company with other horses in training.

 

 

[Forbury]

3 hours ago, Chief Stipe said:

Ben Hope worked the oracle on Pure Courage at his 58th start in the first at Addington last night.  Seems all the Woodenders plunged on the tote as well.

 

PURE COURAGE - authorisation of 1st placing was withheld until driver R Reekie (HE'S TOUGH) placed 4th, had viewed the replays and confirmed he did not wish to proceed with a protest after receiving interference from PURE COURAGE early in the run home. Driver C Wigg admitted a breach of Rule 869(3)(b) in that she drove carelessly when shifting ground and striking the sulky wheel of HE'S TOUGH early in the run home which punctured. After viewing the replays and hearing penalty submissions the Adjudicative Committee imposed a fine of $250. When questioned regarding the improved performance trainer B Hope advised that he had made several gear changes since acquiring the horse in recent weeks, in particular a change to the gelding's shoeing and was of the opinion that the horse had appreciated being able to work in company with other horses in training.

 

 

That's great news as Ben looks to have a lot of passion for the sport.i agree Ben has done very well at training with great success.its a shame the Australian experience has not improved his driving ability decisions and the rating of horses making him one of the worse professional drivers around.that does not mean I believe Ben should not be race driving there's a lot of very good drivers around he's just not up to there level yet.i hope Ben all the best in racing and I do like him that's just my opinion.its a shame we never got to see the best of muscle mountain overseas as the horse is past its best now and it's all downhill from here.

[Brodie]

just shows how much s harness horse can be improved by other trainers!

Imagine how good Red Harbour wouldve been in another stable, bearing in mind Red Harbour has win a lot of races.

Surely Red Harbour would have been one of our very best, going by the improvement  in this one in very quick time.

There will be s lot of horses that need to be in professional stables to show their true ability, but then I suppose that takes away the enjoyment of training your own horse?

 

[the galah]

No doubt ben hope used all his knowledge and also tapped into the wise heads of those who run and work at the hope stable to get the improvement in pure courage. Certainly was a major improvement but i'm sure it just came down to skill that saw the turnaround in form.

I don't know mr james ,the previous trainer,but i think he does a nice job and red harbour has been a star for his stable.

I do remember talking to a trainer who once pulled off a similar win with a horse that he bought from mr james,. It too won first up and they pulled off a winning punt. From memory that trainer told me how mr james was a hard working person who he sometimes would see race his horses at night some distance away,then be would see him drive past early in the morning on the way to work. I like seeing people like that do well and red harbour is one of my favorites. i wonder where he is at the moment.

Anyway ben hope must have seen something in pure courage that others may not have and has reaped the rewards.

Interesting that they put it in the amateur race. Horses just seem to always run for the wigg sisters.

Forbury i think your being a tough judge on mr hope's driving. Your entitled to your opinion and i agree sometimes he can be a bit frustrating from a punting perspective,but his record shows he's one of the best when it comes to drivers of trotters in nz,not just the good ones.i think he drives the pacers ok ,just does tend to drive a bit for luck more with the pacers and doesn't always get it. And punters always like seeing the horse with their money on get a run at the right time,even if that isn't a realistic expectation.

[Chief Stipe]

So this time @the galah you are not joining @Archie Butterfly in inferring that there is some special Woodend potion involved?

[the galah]

4 hours ago, Chief Stipe said:

So this time @the galah you are not joining @Archie Butterfly in inferring that there is some special Woodend potion involved?

I just read mr butterfly"s headlines,not a subscriber.

I think he has good instincts myself, but if he's suggesting the hope's a have a potion then i'm pretty sure he is wrong. 

To me,the hope trained horses have never run like they have ever used a potion.