Volpe sprints to Highway win at Rosehill

His trainer believes Volpe is essentially a middle-distance horse but the four-year-old has shown plenty of dash to win the TAB Highway race at Rosehill.

And Danny Williams is effusive in his praise of Jean Van Overmeire’s ride on Volpe ($12) in Saturday’s 1200m race for country-trained horses.

The apprentice had to extricate Volpe from a pocket late but when the gelding sensed the gap, he powered through and hit the line 1-1/4 lengths ahead of Rugenbrau ($7), with another three-quarters of a length to Shelly Beach Road ($17).

“Jean rode him fantastic,” Williams said.

“He didn’t look like he’d get through for a while but when the gap came he went for it.

“This horse is crying out for 2000 metres but we haven’t been able to get him there yet.”

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Volpe has won three races for the Goulburn trainer since being transferred from the Hawkes Racing partnership at Rosehill.

“He came to us a very fit horse and went well over 1000 metres at his first start for us,” Williams said.

“He has a lot of talent.”

Saturday was the last time horses from Canberra could contest the Highway races for country-trained horses, with the area now classed as provincial.

The Canberra club has introduced its own series of races with a $10,000 bonus if a local horse wins and although Williams will be eligible to compete in both, his sympathies are with the trainers in the nation’s capital.

“It’s a good incentive by the club but I think the bonus should be more for the locals,” he said.