It’s all systems go
Star driver Deni Roberts declares that it is all systems go and that superstar pacer Minstrel is poised to return to the winning list when he contests the $31,000 Trotsynd, Join The Fun Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night as he gets ready for the $1,250,000 Nullarbor slot race on April 17.
Minstrel, an evergreen nine-year-old prepared by champion trainers Greg and Skye Bond, possesses the speed and strength to overcome the disadvantage of starting from the outside barrier (No. 9) on the front line.
“He will be ready to rock’n’roll on Friday,” said an upbeat Roberts. “It doesn’t matter where he draws, he will be a very good chance.
“I was really happy with his first-up second to Magnificent Storm in the Pinjarra Cup (three Mondays ago) and he has come through the run very good.”
Minstrel revealed his typical fighting qualities when he raced in the breeze outside the frontrunning Magnificent Storm, who sprinted over the final three 400m sections of the 2692m Cup in 28.2sec., 28sec. and 27.2sec.
Minstrel, who has amassed $2,033,023 in prizemoney from 31 wins and 27 placings from 79 starts, will be attempting to win the Nullarbor at his third attempt. He was second to Catch A Wave in the big race in 2024, and he led when third behind Mister Smartee and Gee Heza Sport in last year’s event.
Eight-year-old Gee Heza Sport, a stablemate of Minstrel, will be on trial for the Nullarbor when he resumes after a three-month absence. He will begin from the No. 7 barrier and will be driven for the first time by Kyle Symington.
Millionaire pacer Mighty Ronaldo, who ran on from sixth at the bell to finish fourth in the recent Pinjarra Cup, will start from barrier six, and outstanding trainer Justin Prentice has engaged Gary Hall Jnr to drive the eight-year-old. Hall has handled the gelding in 37 of his 79 starts for ten wins, seven seconds and seven thirds.
A strong performance could lead to Mighty Ronaldo lining up in his fourth Nullarbor --- after finishing tenth in 2023, sixth in 2024 and fifth last year.
A flying start from barrier four saw Rockandrollartist set the pace and win by more than two lengths from Petes Honour, rating 1.56.3 last Friday night. Rockandrollartist will again begin from the No. 4 barrier, with his trainer-reinsman Aiden De Campo saying: “He went good last week, but is up a grade this week, and Minstrel will make it hard for him.”
Catch Me If You Can
Brilliant filly Wishing Belle’s winning sequence of seven was broken three weeks ago when she raced in the breeze and finished a neck second to the frontrunning Miss Leopatra in a race restricted to three-year-old fillies.
On Friday night this week she will clash with three fillies, two geldings and a colt in the 2130m Bridge Bar Open Saturday and Sunday Pace, and leading trainer-trainer reinsman Aiden De Campo thrown down the gauntlet and challenged her rivals.
“I will try to get to the front, and I’ll be hoping she will give the boys, particularly D Mac and Proposition Joe, something to chase,” he said. “She is working super at home and is my best on the night.”
Wishing Belle was unlucky three weeks ago at her first appearance after a spell. She began swiftly from out wide at barrier eight before being restrained to the one-out, one-back position and then dashing forward to the breeze after 300m. Her prospects were affected when her nearside lugging pole became loose and then detached 400m from home.
“The winner rated a fast 1.55.7, and Wishing Belle’s effort after sitting in the breeze was excellent,” said De Campo. “She definitely needed the run, and she seems to have improved since then.
Champion trainer Gary Hall Snr has given the New Zealand-bred D Mac a solid preparation and the colt is poised for a strong first-up effort. This will be his first outing since he set the pace from barrier three and won the group 1 Golden Slipper by two lengths from Wake Up Geoff on September 26.
D Mac will begin from the outside barrier in the field of seven, with his driver Gary Hall Jnr saying that he was probably his best winning chance on the night.
“He has had as much work as Im Stealthy before he won first-up at Pinjarra and then again at Gloucester Park last Friday night,” said Hall Jnr.
Proposition Joe (barrier six) comes into the race with excellent credentials, having won at his only two appearances in New Zealand last October and then racing twice at Pinjarra for leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond as a three-year-old for a win over Wheelsofortune over 1684m and then second to Im Stealthy at Pinjarra after racing without cover.
Trainer Ryan Bell’s smart gelding Southerner (barrier five) cannot be underestimated after winning three races in a row in January and February.
New tactics for Hugotastic
Ace trainer Michael Young indicated a change of tactics for Hugotastic when he appears after a two-month absence from out wide at barrier seven in the 2130m Trotsynd Syndicate No. 29 Shares Available Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Hugotastic, a lightly-raced New Zealand-bred six-year-old, disappointed as an odds-on favourite at his two most recent outings in January when he began from the outside barrier (No. 9) in both events and was driven aggressively before fading badly to be eighth behind Codename Marcus and tenth behind Lincoln River.
He charged forward at the start, out three wide, and was forced to work hard outside the pacemaker Arma Believer before dropping back to the rear in the race won by Codename Marcus, and then two weeks later he was restrained to the rear before dashing forward after 950m to move to the outside of the frontrunning Northview Dance and then fading badly to finish last, ten lengths behind Lincoln River.
Young said that he would instruct Emily Suvaljko to drive Hugotastic with a sit on Friday night. “We over-drove him a few times earlier this year, and that was his undoing,” said Young. “We have to back off on how tough we drive him, so we will drive him sit-kick.
“He is a fast horse, a bit like Lincoln Lou, who goes back in his races and gets past a lot of horses late. Hugotastic has a lot of speed which enables him to get out of trouble.”
Two pacers seeking to end a worrying losing sequence look set to fight out the finish of the final event, the 1730m Park at Gloucester Park Pace. They are Ideal Interest and Hi Sugar Rush.
Ideal Interest, to be driven by Ryan Warwick for Pinjarra trainer Russell Eddy, has a losing sequence of 15, and Hi Sugar Rush, who will be having his first start for trainer-reinsman Chris Voak, has a losing sequence of 14.
Ideal Interest is better drawn at barrier two, while Hi Sugar Rush will begin out wide at barrier seven in the field of eight. Ideal Interest began from the No. 5 barrier in a 2130m event last Friday night before he made a lightning mid-race move to challenge the pacemaker Il Bandito with 1300m to travel. But he was unable to get to the front and was left in the breeze before wilting to finish seventh behind The Wand Waver.
Four days earlier Ideal Interest set the pace in a 2185m event at Pinjarra and was swamped in the closing stages to finish sixth in a blanket finish, less than a length from the winner Leavemeamessage.
Hi Suga Rush has recently changed stables and is expected to perform strongly at his first appearance for six weeks. At his most recent outing he raced wide early and then in the breeze before wilting to finish sixth behind Fly To The Finish over 2130m.
