Becoming a 'purist' whether he likes it or not!

FOR a trainer who isn't a natural fan of trotters, Joe Pace is building an impressive strike rate with the gait.

A self-confessed pacing man - claims his surname has no influence - Pace captured a pair of Group Ones with rising star squaregaiter Harry Stamper last season.

As a result of Harry Stamper's success, Pace has seen an influx of trotter's in his stable, with his team now a 50-50 split!

"You can blame it on Harry Stamper," Pace said. "I hadn't had a trotter around the place for a while until he came along.

"Now half the team are trotters...the way it's going they will take over.

"When several horses came here recently I asked Jerry (Glavas, part-owner) which ones are pacers and he said 'none' which caught me off guard a little."

It was a member of the 'Glavas Group' which provided Pace with his latest victory by scoring in Bendigo last night.

Breaking his maiden at his third start - and second for Pace - Shaq The Anvil outstayed his rivals to capture a Home Classic heat, booking a berth in the Final at Tabcorp Park Melton on March 25.

With Anthony Butt holding the reins, the son of Orlando Vici rated 2:04.4 over 1650 metres as Kyvalley Anthony and Majestic Mover filled the placings.

"He's a promising type which shows a fair bit of potential," Pace said. "The penny still hasn't dropped with him, so he's doing it on raw ability.

"As he learns more about what he is doing he should develop into a pretty good sort."