Wagga trainer Shane Hallcroft believes a change in training methods has seen Louie Finn produce his best.
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The former New Zealander broke a 15-race losing streak in August and hasn’t looked back since.
He completed a hat-trick of Victorian wins last time out but returns to the Riverina for his next assignment at Wagga on Friday night.
He’s drawn barrier five in the South Wagga Butchery Pace (2165m) and Hallcroft is confident he can continue on his impressive streak.
“If we don’t find the front we will park out and I think he will be hard to beat,” Hallcroft said.
“If he is outside the leader I think he can still he can win.
“He probably becomes a very good thing if he does find the lead.”
While Louie Finn had been placed in two starts since making the switch to Hallcroft’s stable, he has shown his best form in his last three starts.
His last win was a 13.7-metre victory at Shepparton and he gets into his next race with Peter McRae’s junior driver claim.
The Wagga trainer revealed he’d taken a different approach before the three races in Victoria.
“I just changed a bit of his work,” Hallcroft said.
“It’s shorter and sharper to try and sharpen him up a bit.
“When he first come from New Zealand he was pretty dour so I changed a bit of work.
“Wayne Potter actually put me onto a program and I’ve stuck with it.”
Hallcroft also believes the son of Grinfromeartoear is better suited to the larger Victorian tracks, but is confident he will still perform on the tighter tracks in the Riverina.
“I think he gets around our tracks alright but I think he got around better in Victoria,” he said.
“It sort of suited him but in saying that I changed his work prior of going to Victoria.”
Hallcroft has set his sights on a start in the $11,000 Griffith Pacers Cup as his next main aim with the five-year-old.
He also has Keys Tothe Village in the same race but expects he will take a lot of benefit from the first up run.
Hallcroft is also expecting a better performance from Champion Miss after she was in-season during her last start eighth a month ago.
The seven-race card will also feature two heats of the J C Caffyn Indigenous Plate Series.
Named after the multiple Harold Park premiership winner, Indigenous drivers will travel from across the state to take part.
The only local reinsman in the heats is the border’s Royce Gregory-Jack.
There is also two Menangle Country Series heats on the cards, with horses looking to book their place in the $26,000 final later in the month.