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Hasselhoof comes to Australia with a perfect winning record and ever-growing fan club which numbers his namesake among the faithful.
The four-year-old is unbeaten in six starts in New Zealand and will be out to maintain his strike rate in a 1600m-open handicap at Randwick on Saturday.
The winner of the Group Two Rich Hill Mile on New Year’s Day, Hasselhoof will travel to Sydney on Wednesday night after trainers Donna Logan and Chris Gibbs made the decision not to step him up to a 2200m-race at home.
“It is a big trip for him as he’s never been further than Auckland which is just a couple of hours down the road,” Gibbs said.
“He is still immature which is why he didn’t race until he was nearly four.
“Donna and the other owners tossed around running him in a 2200 metre race here and there was talk of the Auckland Cup but he’s not ready for that this year.
“Eventually we think he will be a stayer but he’s still another year away.
“The trip to Sydney is just to see how he handles things and hopefully he does.”
There were 20 entries taken on Monday for the Gardenia Handicap headed by the Chris Waller-trained Beyond Thankful who will have to carry 63.5kg with his mark of 106.
Hasselhoof has been given a benchmark rating of 96 and a weight of 58.5kg.
Leading New Zealand jockey Matt Cameron will make the trip to Sydney to ride him and somewhere in the future David Hasselhoff may also come from the United States to watch him race.
“Some of the younger girls who have small shares in him have got on social media and attracted the attention of (actor) David Hasselhoff,” Gibbs said.
“They had a phone call from him and he is keen to come out and see him race.
“It has snowballed.”
Hasselhoof was almost lost to the southern hemisphere after his second start but a group of high-profile racing identities, including Sir Patrick Hogan, banded together to keep him in New Zealand.
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