HULL LOOKING FORWARD TO A SUCCESSFUL FEW DAYS

JAKE Hull isn’t perturbed about putting Valilee’s unbeaten record on the line

on a wet track at Hawkesbury on Sunday.

The talented young Gosford trainer takes the sparingly-raced five-year-old there to begin a new campaign in the Happy New Year Benchmark 64 Handicap (1000m).

Mitchell Bell has been the gelding’s rider in both his wins – a Provincial Maiden Plate (100m) at home on July 19, and Class 1 Handicap (1100m) at Hawkesbury on August 12 – and stays aboard, keen to clinch a hat-trick.

“Valilee won a trial by a dozen lengths at Hawkesbury in July on a heavy track before he won on debut at Gosford,” Hull said today.

“Both his wins were on soft ground, so I can’t see any reason why not to resume him on Sunday (Hawkesbury was rated a ‘Soft 6’ this morning following overnight rain)."

Hull has done a terrific job to get the son of Adelaide to the races, let alone win two from two. Valilee suffered a stress fracture as a two-year-old, then fractured his skull in an incident on the water walker and when his trainer finally got the chance to get him going, quickly discovered he was a “Grade 4 roarer” and needed a throat operation to remedy his wind infirmity.

Hull has given Valilee an 800m trial – which he won at Gosford on November 25 – in the lead-up to the gelding’s resumption, and says Sunday’s race will be a good test of his ability.

“Valilee is a hard-going horse and keeps himself fit, and is in great order,” Hull said.

“But this doesn’t look an easy race by any means. If he can go to Hawkesbury and win again with 61.5kg (topweight), then we know we’ve got a good one.”

Hull’s major client John O’Connor paid $80,000 for Valilee as a 2022 Inglis Classic yearling, and wanted to name him after the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, often referred to as the father of modern science.

However he was unable to get Galileo (the famed Irish racehorse and stallion), and settled for Valilee.

Along with Valilee, Hull also takes last start Wyong winner Rathoran to Hawkesbury for the Mac Insolvency Provincial Benchmark 64 Handicap (1500m).

Apprentice Anna Roper has ridden Rathoran in his last three wins, including his barnstorming Wyong triumph in a Benchmark 64 Handicap (1300m) on November 25.

“Rathoran goes up 2kg and Anna doesn’t have a provincial claim, but she has a lot of confidence in the horse and rides him well,” Hull said.

“He is a real trier, and I’ve been happy with his progress since the Wyong race.”

Hull is hoping for continuing success in the next few days as he also looks forward to meetings at Kemspey on Monday and on Newcastle’s inner Beaumont track on Tuesday.

Zouking (Ben Looker) and Rubinsky (Roper) both line up in the Maiden Plate (1000m) at Kempsey, and Lord Vettori (Roper) tackles the Class 1 Handicap (1200m) on the Beaumont circuit.

Four-year-olds Zouking and Rubinsky were placed at their debuts; the former at Muswellbrook in February and latter at Quirindi in October last year.

Lord Vettori, a Rubick four-year-old, after five placings broke through with ease in a Grafton Maiden Plate (1115m) on November 30. Story by John Curtis, 12 December, 2025. Photo by Bradley Photos