Shocking draw won’t stop winning ways

A SHOCKING draw should do little to stop rising star Wolf Stride from continuing his winning ways.

Scoring first-up from a three-month spell last weekend, Wolf Stride has won his last seven starts for trainer Anthony Butt.

Wolf Stride’s latest success was in an up to 80 national rating heat, with the four-year-old set to contest the $30,600 Final at Club Menangle on Saturday night.

To Butt’s dismay Wolf Stride has drawn barrier 10 over a mile.

The son of Rock N Roll Heaven slots into nine with the removal of the emergency.

“It’s not the best draw over the sprint, but it’s what we have,” Butt said. “I haven’t decided on tactics at this stage but as long as he is in front at the finish that’s all that matters.

“He went well first-up last week and has improved for the run so I expect him to be better again in the Final.”

Yet to decide on an immediate target for the entire beyond the Group Three, Butt has earmarked several major races early in the New Year as Wolf Stride’s long term targets, including Victoria’s Summer Carnival.

A Victorian trip is also on the cards for Wolf Stride’s boom stablemate Elite Stride, which is close to a racing return.

Boasting eight wins and a second from nine starts, Elite Stride will be taken south for the Trotters’ Derby and Australasian Breeders’ Crown.

The Derby is scheduled to be conducted in Maryborough on November 1, with the Breeders’ Crown Final three weeks later.

The son of Muscle Hill has an average winning margin of 14-and-a-half metres.

“He is ready to race now but there is nothing suitable for him this week,” Butt said. “I’ll find a race for him in the next fortnight and go from there.

“He is a horse which has the X-factor about him, and if he keeps progressing the way he is, he could be anything.”