While all the talk in the lead up to yesterday's Coolabah Goat Company Stakes was about Big Jamesy and whether he would break the lap record at Dawson Park it turned out to be a day to forget for trainer Paul Braddon as Greg Ford's Too Hotta Stop shocked the field to win by five lengths.
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Big Jamesy was expected to threaten the track record 22.69 seconds after running 22.72 last week and was a $1.04 short-price favourite minutes before the race. He drifted out to $1.30 by the time they jumped and the big dog missed the start as Too Hotta Stop ($8.60) capitalised and led from start to finish over 400m to claim his 17th career win.
"Big Jamesy is a quicker dog and he's up-and-coming but he missed the start and this dog is consistent so he could get away," Ford said after the race.
The local trainer admitted Too Hotta Stop had never been faster in a race and his time of 22.77 was impressive as he took the lead early and got further from the filed as they rounded the bend for home.
"That's his quickest race time, he's gone quicker for me in a trial, he did break the record once in a trial but that's his fastest run time so I'm happy with that, it's great," he said.
"He's quite a strong dog now later in his career, when he was younger he was really weak but since he's got older he's strengthened up a bit and he'll go to Bathurst now over 500m and see if he can back up and win another."
While Too Hotta Stop was a shock winner in the eighth race of the day it was all went to plan in race seven, the Buck Fever @ STUD 0-2 wins heat (516m), where the prolific local trainer picked up a quinnella when her runners Bekim Keeping and Zipping Albert were first past the post.
"It was really nice, couldn't have done any better," Roberts said.
Starting from the eight box Bekim Keeping started strongly and didn't let up from there and controlled the race to win by three lengths and Roberts said she impressed both her dogs.
"He came out really well off the eight, I didn't expect him to come out that well," she said. "But they go nicely, really nicely."
Earlier in the day Wot A Hottie ($7.20) proved a surprise winner in the first as he became Greg Ford's first winner of the day while Isabell Enlim blew the field off the park in the second, winning for trainer Len Haaring by ten-and-a-half lengths.
Pure Arrogance ($2.10) was also a huge winner, getting home by ten-and-a-quarter lengths for Haaring in the third while the Cooks Gap trainer continued his successful day when Most Arrogant ($2.00) won by four-and-a-half lengths in the sixth.
