Last-start winner, Im In Trouble, is chasing back-to-back wins on consecutive Fridays at Riverina Paceway when taking on the $10,000 regional heat of the breeders challenge for two-year-old colts and geldings (1740m).
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Trained in Canberra by Michael Hawke, the exciting prospect is unbeaten at the Wagga track, where he began his career in style in February and has added two more wins there in the last six weeks.
"Three for three, I can't knock it. He likes it down there, he's doing a good job," Hawke said.
"I thought he'd win (last week), he was down a bit in grade, but he's a bit of a bugger to drive. Once he gets past them he wants to duck in and go to sleep. You've got to drive him accordingly."
The only blemishes on the gelding's record are a fifth, with excuses, in the group one Gold Crown at Bathurst, an eighth when severely hampered at the start at Young in a breeders challenge heat, and then a failure to score up in the semi-final at Menangle.
Im In Trouble beat Brooke McPherson's Smooth Rolling by nearly four metres last week as a $1.80 favourite. Hawke expects he'll need to improve.
"Brad Hewitt's Escape Artist goes pretty good. He's drawn out wide. He'll be hard to beat and the one of Steve Maguire's (Noble Trick)," Hawke said.
"They've got good form so they must be able to do something but they'll know he's been there."
Noble Trick has won three of his nine races including two at West Wyalong last month before being placed in group two company in Menangle's true blue series last start.
Hawke also has Crime Dont Pay in the TAB Long May We Play Pace (2270m), three days after he was third at Canberra.
"He's been a great little horse for us (10 wins and 22 placings in 70 starts)," he said.
"He's a real honest horse but there's a couple of nice ones in that race."
The Brad Hewitt-trained Miss Hattie won twice at Wagga in August and is second up from a spell but the stable will also unveil another former NZ pacer, the promising Debutante Party, in the event.
That closes out the eight-race card at Wagga, which kicks off with the first of the two heats for fillies in the regional breeders challenge series at 12.43pm
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