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Harbour Views Can Eat and Run

Unbeaten French import Harbour Views shapes as nearly the perfect racehorse from his robust conformation to his yet untapped ability to run fast.

But in every masterpiece, there is always a flaw and for Harbour Views, his weakness became apparent just one day into his winter spell.

“He’s a bit of a different horse because he hadn’t ever really been in a paddock and he didn’t know how to eat grass,” trainer Matt Williams said on Tuesday morning.

“We used to take him out for a pick and he wouldn’t eat. You’d have to handpick it and put it in his mouth.

“Because he’d spent so much in boxes overseas, he’s never really been out (into a paddock) and had a really good spell so my daughter’s little pony spelled with him and taught him how to eat grass.”

Harbour Views stormed into spring contention on the back of three late-season wins at Warrnambool, Bendigo and Swan Hill, where he beat his rivals despite enjoying very little racing craft.

“He was just so green when he came out,” Williams explained. “When you galloped him with another horse, he wouldn’t go to the front in the gallop. You could sit him off as far as you’d like and he’d pick the other horse up, but he wouldn’t go past it. He’d just prick the ears and look.

“But as went through his prep, he really started to switch on and that’s what Johnny’s (Allen, his rider) really noticed from his Warrnambool run to his Bendigo run to his Swan Hill run, was each time just how much he’s improved.

“I’m sure having that bit of time off and giving him the chance to catch-up mentally more so than physically because he’s a very well grown and developed horse but I’m sure that will do him the world of good for this prep.

“He had a month off after he won at the Swan Hill Carnival and he came back in and had two weeks with heavy sand work, beach work and water walker work.

“He had his first piece of faster work this morning. He did some three-quarter pace and evens.

“The plan is to have him ready to trial on the second of September at Cranbourne and then another trial a fortnight after that.

“But I couldn’t be happier with how he spelled in the month that he had off.

“He was getting boxed at night while he was out having his break and he’s probably put on 20 to 25 kilos and we’re really happy. He just looks super well.”

Williams said while he was not aiming too high with the horse in the spring, Harbour Views will be racing for a good deal of money.

“The plan is to go first-up the day after the AFL Grand Final – the Sunday meeting they have at Caulfield,” Williams said. “It’s a (Benchmark) 78 over 1400 there for him.

“Second-up we’d like to go to Geelong on Cup Day for a Benchmark 78 1500m there which is a qualifying heat for the country series.

“We had the country series as a plan on the way to the Ballarat Cup but with the announcement of it going to $500,000 for the final, we’ve really nailed that in.

“So we’d like to qualify at Geelong if we can and then go to Flemington on Oaks Day for the country series final and then he’s got a bit of time then for the Ballarat Cup, which is back to 2000 metres and it has a $500,000 purse there.”

 

Article: Andrew Eddy & Brad Bishop for Racing.com