Six-year-old Brickies Dream is an exciting new member in Free-For-All ranks in WA, and he showed that he will be a worthy candidate for the $450,000 WA Pacing Cup on December 12 with an impressive last-to-first victory in the $31,000 Taste of WA Janette Donnelly Pace over 2536m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Brickies Dream ($6.40) was not bustled out from barrier seven and settled down at the rear while the polemarker Chivalry ($23) was setting the pace, with Aiden de Campo cleverly slotting $51 outsider Magnus Victor in behind the leader.
Never Ending ($3.50) dashed forward from the rear after 650m to move to the breeze, and Brickies Dream was still last in the field of twelve with 950m to travel when Lindsay Harper urged the $3.40 favourite Captain Ravishing forward with a three-wide burst.
Trainer-reinsman Robbie Williams quickly got Brickies Dream to follow Captain Ravishing’s run, and after that pacer began to wilt in the back straight, Williams switched Brickies Dream four wide and the gelding accelerated to burst to the front in the final 65m and go on and win by 2m from Chivalry, with Magnus Victor in third place.
The final quarters were run in 28.1sec. and 28.2sec. and Brickies Dream rated 1.57.1. Captain Ravishing faded to finish last, with Never Ending wilting after a tough run to be ninth.
“In Free-For-Alls you are never confident that you can come from last,” said Williams. “But this race was run to suit, and once I got the run behind Captain Ravishing and at the 400m when I could see that the leaders were flat out, I was pretty confident.
“In this campaign Brickies Dream has gone to the level you need to compete with the best of them. Driven as a sit-sprinter suits him and this point-to-point speed certainly helps him, particularly against the better horses. And when he draws well, he has good gate speed.
“He is getting better and better, and the Pacing Cup is his aim. My old mate Chris Butt recommended him to me, and he said that he would develop into a very good horse.”
Williams bought Brickies Dream after he had raced twice as a three-year-old in New Zealand for third placings at Timaru and Oamaru, and the Rock N Roll Heaven gelding is raced by a joyous group of 17 stable clients. Brickies Dream, the first foal out of Kate De Goldie (13 starts for three wins, four placings and $15,255) has earned $210,758 from 15 wins and 13 placings from 44 starts.