There is no replacing the best horse you have ever trained, but Saturday night’s Group 1 Woodlands Stud Victoria Derby favourite Palladium is proving something of a tonic for trainer Brad Hewitt.
Just over three months ago, Hewitt left Albion Park with stars in his eyes, pondering how far his big, raw, gifted and untapped pacer Hollywood Strip could take him.
A few weeks later, the three-year-old, a winner of 13 of just 15 starts, was dead.
Hollywood Strip developed severe laminitis in a hind leg while recovering from surgery.
“It was devastating. It came out of nowhere. He was struggling so badly, the vet said we had no option but to euthanise him,” Hewitt said.
“He was my dream horse, the one all trainers hope they’ll get at some stage of their career. I doubt I’ll get another one like him as long as I train.
“He was starting out and had it all ahead of him, which makes it even harder to come to terms with.”
Hollywood Strip won the NSW Derby in March and was an unbackable favourite to add the Queensland Derby after producing a monstrous third behind subsequent Inter Dominion winner Captains Mistress and New Zealand’s best pacer, Marketplace, in the Group 1 Rising Sun on July 4.
He fractured a pastern bone just days before the Derby, prompting the surgery that later led to the laminitis.
Remarkably, and fittingly, Hewitt still won that Queensland Derby on July 18 with a far lesser-known recent Kiwi import, Palladium.
Like Hollywood Strip, Palladium is raced by leviathan owner Mick Boots.
“I was just saying to ‘Bootsy’ the other day how nothing will replace Hollywood Strip, but this horse is a tonic for us both,” Hewitt said.
“I’ve got a really good opinion of Palladium, and it didn’t surprise me he won that Queensland Derby when Hollywood Strip wasn’t there.
“As good as he was that night, I’m sure he’s a lot better now. He had a really rushed and interrupted preparation for Queensland, but since the break he had after it, he’s come back a different horse.”
Palladium has raced three times since, recording two wins, including a soft Victoria Derby heat victory last Saturday, and a second in the Carousel final at Menangle.
“He pulled up crook as a dog after the Carousel, so it’s amazing he ran second,” Hewitt said.
“I’ve been telling Bootsy, and I told Nathan (Jack, driver), how well he’s come back. Nathan got to feel that for himself when he drove him to win the Derby heat last week while I was away in the US.
“Nathan couldn’t speak highly enough of him and said he wished I’d stayed another week in the US so he could drive him in the final.”
Palladium is a $2.60 favourite for the Derby, in which Hewitt thinks he may need to repeat his Queensland tactics and sit outside likely leader Brooklyn Dan to win.
“It’s never easy doing that, but he showed he could in Brisbane,” he said.
Palladium could be part of a huge night for Boots, who also owns the raging-hot Victoria Cup favourite Captains Mistress.
Both horses were trained by popular New Zealand South Island trainer Nathan Williamson before moving to Australia.
“Nathan should be really proud,” Hewitt said. “He does a terrific job with his horses and was the first to tell me about Palladium’s little quirks and kept checking in along the way. That’s class.”
by Adam Hamilton for Harness Racing Victoria