Fantastic win for Cranny trainer

By Brad Kingsbury
FORMER New Zealander, now Cranbourne trainer, Dean Howard was as surprised as anyone was when his emerging young galloper It’llbefantastic stormed home to snatch an unlikely victory in the Listed Hilton Stakes at Flemington on Saturday.
“I was a wee bit confident that we might be good enough to get some of the (prize) money, but at no stage did I think we were good enough to win it,” the thrilled trainer said after the presentation.
It’llbefantastic started as a $31 chance and nosed second fancy Silver Spur, with hot favourite Governance a half length away in third place.
It was the three-year-old gelding’s fourth start in a race and only its second in Victoria after Howard picked it up when it came across from Western Australia.
The Hilton Stakes was a huge rise in class from its last start win over 1300 metres at Pakenham.
Howard knew the challenge was going to be a big one, but wanted to test his horse early in its career, suspecting it had plenty of ability.
“He was probably only 80 to 85 per cent there at Pakenham, so we knew we had a bit up our sleeve, but that was a good effort,” he said.
“It’s a buzz and a half winning here during the (spring) carnival. I can’t believe it.”
Howard has been training out of Cranbourne for just on three years and only has two horses in work at present.
He said that It’llbefantastic was the best horse he had trained to date and added that there was a chance that it would back up next Saturday at Sandown.
“I had in mind the Sandown Guineas and I still have got that in mind, but we’ll go home and see how he pulls up and go from there,” he said.
There was precious little joy for other Cranbourne trainers on the day with Robbie Laing the only counterpart of Howard to get a prize cheque when his two-year-old filly She’s Got Gears finished third in the Group 3 Maribyrnong Plate.