It’s easy to understand how Hellova Street’s former trainer Scott Brunton becomes so emotional talking about his ageless warrior after the nine-year-old gelding chalked up win number 20 in Saturday’s Listed Golden Mile at Bendigo.
With the travel bans due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Brunton left the Tassie legend in the care of Patrick Payne following his last-start third to Guizot in the Anniversary Vase at Caulfield on March 14. That was his fifth stakes placing since November and he often had to play second fiddle to his former stablemate Mandela Effect.
Sent to the front by Michael Dee, there was to be no catching Hellova Street.
He looked vulnerable on the turn and for a few fleeting moments in the straight. But in the last 100 metres the son of Helike (USA) was coming away from them again to record a one and three-quarter length win over Iconoclasm (Toorak Toff) with a further one and a quarter lengths back to Admiral's Joker (Bel Esprit) in third.
With his tenth stakes win in the bag, Hellova Street advances his record to 20 wins, 16 seconds and 9 thirds from 57 starts with earnings of $1,287,075 and a Hellova lot of fond memories for his connections.
“He’s very tough, he’s honest, he tries hard and we were able to get a nice lead today,” Dee said.
"Gee, I thought the horse that sat outside me had me on the turn but he kicked into another gear and was too strong.
“Speaking to Patrick Payne before the races today he said just have him happy and I thought I was rolling along comfortable on a long reign and we were able to build momentum on that. So it wasn’t a sit and sprint and I think he enjoyed it.”
“The only horse I was concerned about was the second horse and once I was able to regain the lead from that horse I couldn’t hear anything else coming so I knew I had it in the bag.”
Retained to race by his breeders, Hellova Street is a half-brother to stakes-winner Streetwise Savoire and is one of four winners from the Secret Savings (USA) mare Butter Street, who comes from the family of stakes-winner Kattavia.
Butter Street has a yearling colt and a colt foal by Alpine Eagle.
She was one of 111 mares to visit Sun Stud’s Magnus last spring.
Hellova Street is one of four stakes-winners for royally-bred Rahy stallion Helike (USA) who is out of the French Oaks and French 1000 Guineas heroine East Of The Moon, herself a daughter of the incomparable Miesque.
Helike (USA) died in 2013 leaving just 98 live foals from his six seasons at stud.
