Rejuvenated Star To Rock Horsham Cup Heats

STAR Tassie trainer Mick Stringer has a busy week with a couple of his kennel stars stepping out in two states.

Mick will send Big Opal Rocks (Kinloch Brae-Red Rocks) to Jason Thompson on Wednesday to handle the dog for Friday night's heats of the Group 2 Horsham Cup.

“He's absolutely flying,” said Mick of the winner of his past three starts in Tassie but which has been second in a G3 Speed Star and a finalist in the G1 Brisbane Cup.

FIELDS AND FORM HOBART THURSDAY

Gold Coast-based Phil Smith bought Big Opal Rocks late last year and sent him straight to Stringer.

But Mick is equally as confident about the continued return to racing on Thursday night in a top grade 461m at Hobart of Decimate (Aston Dee Bee-Speculate) a three-quarter brother to G1 star Orchestrate.

Decimate was trained by Jason Thompson who, back in June last year, sent him to Tony Brett for the Queensland winter carnival.

“The dog chewed his way out of the crate on his way to Brisbane,” said Mick Stringer.

“He did no good in Brisbane and eventually Jason asked me to take him on for Tom Kinnear his owner.

“But it took me some time to get him right again.

“The legend Bart Cummings once said that time heals all wounds and that's what I thought I would do with Decimate.

“I tossed him into one of the pup yards for three months and let him eat bones, and gallop up and down with the pups.

“He has come back as good as ever.

“He won last week and he beat a very good dog I've got here called Zipping Hero, and he went good time.”

Zipping Hero is one of three runners Mick Stringer has in the Hobart top grade, the other being classy Manila Prince another owned by Phil Smith.

That trio take on three runners from Deb Cannan's kennel Run Red Run, Jordan Titan and Handy Point.

Mick Pearce's Pop's Promise is the only other runner in the race.

“I really don't like racing against myself,” said Mick Stringer. “But the dogs need to race.”