Racing
Stevo with four cracks at Cup hat-trick
Champion jockey Craig Newitt is chasing an unprecedented 10th win in the Devonport Cup, a race close to his heart after spending much of his early life on the north west coast.
Craig Newitt will ride Earendel, who is sure to be one of the top fancies for the cup after three solid runs this campaign.
Earendel is trained at the track by Barry Campbell and has been set for the race.
Meanwhile, Wesley Vale trainer Glenn Stevenson is aiming for his third straight Ladbrokes Devonport Cup and is leaving no stone unturned with four horses entered for the $125,000 event over 1880m on Wednesday.
Stevenson has Ashy Boy (winner of the past two cups), Asva, Spring Bean and The Longest Yard in the Cup.
Ashy Boy has failed to find form this campaign, but Stevenson is hoping a change of gear and routine will see the veteran recapture his best form.
"He picked up a little virus about six weeks ago, he missed a bit of work so we were always chasing our tail.
"I thought I had him right last week, but he was disappointing. I'm really hoping the blinkers make a big change. We jumped him on Monday morning, and we will jump him again on Tuesday and put him up over the dunes," Stevenson said.
At the moment, Ashy Boy is without a rider, with Liam Riordan not making the trip from Melbourne.
6yo Asva, who ran a close fourth in the cup last year, looms as a leading chance. He is yet to win on the synthetic surface but has been placed in four of his six runs on the carpet and showed he was back to his best with a strong win in the Brighton Cup in Hobart last run.
"Really happy with him. Can't fault anything. We went to Hobart. He has come through that really well, and hopefully he can go very close on Wednesday."
Spring Bean excels at the track with four of his six wins being on the synthetic surface and backs up after a second in the Longford Cup on New Year's Day.
"He came through Longford well. He will need to use his gate to be as close as he can, but for him to be a chance, he would need a very quick tempo."
Rounding out the Stevenson quartet is The Longest Yard, the choice of stable jockey Codi Jordan.
"Jordo is pretty keen on The Longest Yard. Drawn (barrier 3) to get a nice run if it can land in the first four. He needs to be held up for a late run. If he gets to the front early, he starts to float and switches off, so Jordo is going to have to give him a peach."
Aside from the Cup, the $109,000 Hospitality Tasmania Carpet Charge (1009m) will also attract plenty of interest with the highly promising filly Sanniya set to test her explosive speed against just five other runners with the scratching of John Keys-trained pair, Tsunami Sam and Galenus.
Sanniya, the 2yo of the year last season, has returned to racing in scintillating form, and she was a brilliant winner at the track and distance last start.
Matt Reid and Colin McNiff will be trackside with all the action. Coverage can be seen on Tasracing Live and, for the very first time, Racing.com.
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