Boom youngster maintains perfect record with Derby win

IF there were any critics suggesting he gets his own way in his races, Hollywood Strip laid those ‘knockers’ to rest in tonight’s Slingsby Holdings NSW Derby.

The Brad Hewitt-trained and driven Hollywood Strip proved one of the stars on a stellar Miracle Mile feature night with his win at Club Menangle, with the Derby now run over the flying mile.

Racing without cover for the entire journey, this gigantic three-year-old made it eight starts for eight wins with a five-and-a-quarter metre win over Soho Charmer and Yottie in a slashing 1:49.8 mile.

“Not many horses can do what this bloke just managed,” said an ecstatic Hewitt who gave a rare salute as he crossed the line to capture the Group One feature.

“This horse has had a few knockers but tonight he showed he can do all the work and still get the job done.

“I must admit I thought we might have to do more work in that first quarter but when we got to the death seat I was really happy to be there without doing too much work.

“From there we were really happy to dictate terms from there and he just proved too good for them. Seriously, this horse has got it all.

“He’s a big baby and there’s still a few quirks like tractability that we have to iron out.

“But he has such a great nature; he’s so composed and has such a lovely nature. He has such a great future.”

Hewitt said Hollywood Strip had been nominated for the Bathurst carnival.“We’ll play it by ear and see how he pulls up and if everything is OK we will head over the mountains to Bathurst with him.”