Red in hot form for title defence

CLASSY trotter Red Hot Tooth is in perfect condition for her title defence at Tabcorp Park Melton next weekend.

An effortless winner in last night’s The Knight Pistol at Cranbourne, Red Hot Tooth will tackle the Need For Speed Gold Final for trainer Kari Males.

The daughter of Yankee Paco captured last season’s edition of the Group One in 1:55.2 with Zac Phillips in the cart.

Red Hot Tooth won her heat of the series a fortnight ago when also covering the mile in 1:55.2.

“She’ll head for the Need For Speed next and hopefully can go just as well in that as she did last year,” Males said. “I couldn’t be happier with the way she is going, as shown by her win at Cranbourne.

“She will draw the second row in the Final, but she’s going to be very hard to beat.”

Driven by Phillips during her latest triumph, Red Hot Tooth showed her customary gate speed to lead from barrier six.

With Phillips gaining a ‘breather’ during the middle stages, the mare proved too slick along the home straight to account for Tornado Valley and Sparkling Success in 2:01.9 over 2555 metres.

“Once she got to the front she was always going to be hard to run down,” Males said. “Sparkling Success galloping probably helped a bit, but she was always ready to run a big race.”