Outstanding trotting trainer Greg Hope has compared his latest star Muscle Mountain to former champion Monbet in the countdown to Sunday's $900,000 Jewels meeting at Cambridge — and Hope says he feels sorry for any horse or driver who gets in Muscle Mountain's way in the $100,000 4-year-old trot.
Hope and wife Nina have both Muscle Mountain (barrier seven) and Midnight Dash (five) in the mobile mile and those frontline draws give them a potentially huge advantage over northern trotting hero Bolt For Brilliance, who has drawn the second line.
Bolt For Brilliance was stunning coming from last to beat older rivals in a national record for a 2200m standing start at Alexandra Park on Friday night, and has beaten Muscle Mountain before, but that was when he settled in front of him, which looks incredibly unlikely on Sunday.
"The draw really hasn't helped us," admits his trainer-driver Tony Herlihy. "It looks like we are going to be behind a couple of those other favourites early, so we can hopefully get the right run into the race.
"I know how good Muscle Mountain is, and giving him a start, if that is how it works out, will be very hard," he says.