Rising Kiwi star Bettors Strike is a live hope in the SEW-Eurodrive Victoria Cup from his kind draw

As a horse that took 16 visits to the track to win his first race, it’s a minor miracle that Cran Dalgety’s rising star Bettors Strike is even part of the SEW-Eurodrive Victoria Cup, let alone a live chance in the $400,000 Group 1.

A stunning progression from honest battler to quality speed horse and now genuine Grand Circuit campaigner, has seen the son of Bettors Delight given a real chance of success tonight after drawing perfectly behind polemarker and likely leader Smoken Up.

“Dexter (Dunn, driver) and I joked before the race that if we could draw anywhere, we’d like to draw behind Smoken Up and hope he draws one,” an ecstatic Dalgety said.

“It’s ideal – he’s a much better horse if he doesn’t have to get into a dogfight and it’s $1.05 that Lance (Justice) and Smoken Up will hold the front on Friday, so going into the race I haven’t got an excuse.”

Bettors Strike showed his class and adaptability at his first and only run on Australian soil when dead-heating with fellow Victoria Cup aspirant Ohoka Nevada at Cranbourne, following his career-best run in the New Zealand Cup on November 10.

That day, the five-year-old secured a charmed run off the speed and ran past Smoken Up, only to be collared by fellow Kiwi Monkey King.  With those two horses among others coming off gut-busting runs in the Miracle Mile, Dalgety is hoping to go one better this time.

“The ones up front like Melpark Major and Smoken Up ran the race of their lives in the Miracle Mile – they went like giants,” the Kiwi conditioner said.

“You just can’t know how well they’ve recovered from an effort like that until they’re under race day exertions again, so we think it’s an advantage, for sure.”

As with most Barastoc Grand Circuit races, luck in transit will play a major role for all runners and while the likely scenario looks rosy for Dalgety and his talented pacer, camp sentiment is one of quiet confidence rather than premature celebration.

“We can predict until we’re blue in the face,” he said.  “It all looks good but we won’t know the score until race day.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he won, put it that way.”

The Victoria Cup will be run at Tabcorp Park for the first time, with runners scheduled to leave the mobile at 9.40pm.