NEW ZEALAND pacer Bettors Strike confirmed his status as a rising star when he blitzed a star-studded field in the $125,000 Group 1 Wrest Point Tasmania Cup in Hobart on Sunday night.

The Cran Dalgety-trained five-year-old started off the back mark of 20 metres and led the three-wide train for the final 900 metres but made light of the task as he cruised to the front 200 metres out and won without being fully extended.

It was an awesome performance from a horse that arrived in Australia with a low profile but who has taken the nation by storm.

From his only three starts he controversially dead-heated for first in the Cranbourne Cup with Ohoka Nevada then stepped out in the silk department and powered home along the sprint lane to win the Group 1 Victoria Cup at TabcorpPark.

But this latest victory established him as a genuine star because he had to give away a start against what was arguably the best Tasmania Cup field ever assembled.

Driver Dexter Dunn summed up the performance when he said the horse has grown into a genuine grand circuit performer.

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