Neither could stand still.
The Auckland Racing Club made Hasselhoof's race the opener in the hope of getting the walk-up crowd in early and while such things are impossible to gauge it appeared to work at least to some degree.
Members of the largest individual group were wearing hats emblazoned with "THE HOOF".
What type or scope of fan club Hasselhoof will attract as he goes forward you can only imagine.
One element is certain - only the worst possible luck will prevent him from being a true champion.
Yesterday the 4-year-old Tavistock gelding carried 60kg - 8kg more than the pacemaker and second-placed Carnavalito - and made the opposition look like pit ponies in the Dunstan Feeds 1400.
"The scary thing," said Chris Gibbs, "is he still has no idea what he's doing."
And so it looked. When Matt Cameron asked Hasselhoof to sprint from fourth early in the home straight he dawdled up to Carnavalito and took his time to work clear.
"He doesn't like getting away from the other horses," said Cameron.
"He wanted to stay with that other horse. That's something he's yet to learn." Cameron said Hasselhoof could have won by a wide margin if he'd put his mind to it.
"The main thing is his mental attitude. He's getting there with that and it was the right thing that Donna and Chris put him aside for a while to let him grow up. He feels a bit stronger than he did last time I was on his back." Jim Gibbs and Sir Patrick Hogan are among the syndicate formed to keep Hasselhoof in New Zealand.
Gibbs has won more races at Ellerslie than most trainers, but was clearly in awe of what he saw yesterday. "He's a 5-year-old or 6-year-old."
If Gibbs is correct in his assessment and Hasselhoof improves significantly in the next year or two it will be a case of watch out the rest.
Kingsman put himself clearly into the $1 million Karaka Million with his China-New Zealand Friendship 1100m at Ellerslie yesterday.
There is not a lot of the Darci Brahma colt, but he's all racehorse.
At one point of the home straight he looked as though he was just going to get past the leaders and he galloped so strongly late the margin was just a touch under five lengths.
Co-trainer Johno Benner said his original intention was to not race Kingsman between this race and the Million, but said he will revisit that matter after getting the colt home to Otaki. "He can do things a bit upside down at times and I was a bit worried when they walked early and he starting getting too keen, but he came back off the bridle." Mark Du Plessis liked the feel of Kingsman. "He's certainly professional enough to warrant a chance in the Karaka Million.
Thunder Down Under took a giant step towards the Derby in March when he came from last to win the $50,000 BMW Salver at Ellerslie yesterday.
Thunder Down Under went into the race as a maiden and starting to get the reputation of a professional placegetter in some quarters, but he showed what an increase in distance meant to him.
The colt stepped from 1500m to 2100m and blitzed them.
"Those who kept the faith and backed him at $50 in the Derby must be pretty happy now," said trainer Stephen Ralph.
Making the effort even more attractive was the fact the middle section of the race was run at a very slow tempo, which would generally disadvantage back runners. Leith Innes managed to find a passage through the body of the field in the early part of the home straight and Thunder Down Under sprinted impressively.
The favourite, Zacada, had trouble working off the rail from mid-field, finishing strongly into second just ahead of Splendido. The connections of Splendido protested against Zacada, alleging interference, which was upheld by the JCA.
Ellerslie highlights
• Hasselhoof makes light weight of his 60kg.
• Kingsman warrants chance in the Karaka Million.
• Thunder Down Under comes from last to win the $50,000 BMW Salver.
What jockeys said after BMW Salver
• 1st Thunder Down Under Leith Innes: Good effort off a slow speed, he sprinted really well the last 200. He's a nice horse and hopefully he'll go on with it.
• 2nd Splendido Grant Cooksley: He went a very good race - interference didn't really help him in the straight. With that run under his belt, he can only improve.
• 3rd Zacada Matt Cameron: Yeah, top run. He probably should've won. Drawn 1 he couldn't get away from the fence. If he had got clear air he would've won easy - he's a horse on the way up.
• 4th Prodigal Son Darryl Bradley: He went super, we got a dream run in the trail. We peeled off on the home turn, he went up to them but was wayward in the straight.
• 5th Battle Plan Mark Du Plessis: Hadn't run for 30 days. We got taken on but he will improve with the run.
• 6th Head Spin Sam Collett: Very happy with her run. She jumped away a bit awkward. We ended up on the back of the favourite in a slowly run race.
