By David Nagel
New South Wales trainer Jason Grimson will enjoy a very special Christmas after Major Meister gave him his second Group-1 in a week in Saturday night’s $100,000 Group-1 Decron Cranbourne Pacing Cup (2555m).
Major Meister was having just his second run for the Grimson camp and capped off a great period of dominance for the trainer and reinsman Cam Hart, who combined to win the Inter Dominion final with I Cast No Shadow just a week earlier.
Hart sat just off a hot speed as the gates peeled back, before taking the lead once the speed settled to take control of the race.
Major Meister ($3.40) led from that point forward, holding off the challenges of Mach Dan ($6) and race-favourite Rock N Roll Doo (3.10) to score a comfortable victory.
“He was super impressive tonight,” Hart told TrotsVision.
“I thought Rock N Roll Doo was probably the one to beat coming into the race, you have to respect his Victoria Cup win, it was a massive run.
“We definitely made him work down the back.”
Hart said Major Meister had shown great versatility and maturity to get the job done.
“He was powerful tonight, he probably travelled a bit more than I would have liked him to have early, he was pretty revved up out of the gate after that false start, but he did come back to me,” he said.
“He travelled really hard and coming off the back and still had a good kick left.
“I think the sky’s the limit after that run.
“We obviously thought he was a nice horse but he had to show it against decent company and he did tonight.”
Major Meister didn’t handle the home turn at Cranbourne upon straightening for the winning post, leading Hart to believe that the five-year-old Art Major gelding will be much better on bigger tracks.
“I really think we will see the best of him at Menangle, he still doesn’t handle these tracks that great to be honest,” Hart explained.
“It’s just lucky that he’s been on the fence these last couple of starts and that’s shown his best.
“I think when he gets back to Menangle, he’s going to be a really nice horse.”
Rating 1:56.7 over 2555 metres, Major Meister took his record to 13 wins and 13 placings from 57 starts and took his prizemoney to a tick over $200,000.
The other feature for the night, the $50,000 Bruce Skeggs Memorial Cranbourne Trotters Cup (2555m), was taken out by the trainer-driver team of Andy and Kate Gath with $1.70 favourite Majestuoso.
Kate Gath settled well back at the start, before moving her way through the field and ending up outside the leader Hopeful Beauty with a lap left to go.
Gath released the brakes as the field turned for home with Majestuoso collaring Hopeful Beauty in the straight and holding off a fast-finishing Powerkeg to take home the Group-1 prize.
