Versatile seven-year-old pacer Sugar Street has been plagued by unfavourable barriers, out wide or on the back line in recent times, and Wanneroo trainer Debbie Padberg is sure to be more than happy that he has drawn the No. 2 barrier in the $23,000 Free Entry After The Cricket Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The New Zealand-bred Sugar Street’s past four starts have resulted in three seconds and one third placing and his good draw this week gives him an ideal opportunity to break a losing sequence of 39.
Sugar Street possesses good gate speed and has won many races after setting the pace, a fact which is likely to influence reinsman Lindsay Harper’s planning in an event which includes fast beginners Stormyskyes (barrier four) and Her Presence (five).
Sugar Street maintained his consistent form last Friday night when he began out wide at barrier seven and settled down in ninth position before following Cordero’s three-wide forward thrust from the rear in the final circuit to finish a close-up third behind Cordero and the pacemaker Illawong Mustang.
A week earlier Sugar Street began from the back line and raced three back on the pegs before running home solidly to finish second to the frontrunning Boy Blue.
Sugar Street has been a good moneyspinner, having raced 87 times for eleven wins, 19 seconds, eleven thirds and $172,041 in prizemoney.
Four-year-old Her Presence, to be driven by Stuart McDonald for trainer Gary Hall snr, looms large as the main danger to Sugar Street. She began from barrier six and raced wide early before taking up the running after 500m and finishing second to the fast-finishing Hale Saint Louie over 2130m last Friday week.
Her Presence was most impressive a week earlier when she surged home from sixth at the bell to win by three lengths from the pacemaker Stormyskyes, rating 1.55.8 over 2130m.
Trainer-reinsman Dylan Egerton-Green said he expected Overly Excited to be “right in it again” when he begins from barrier six in Friday night’s race. “He was three deep in the last lap and finished sixth behind Nutbush Girl, who rated 1.54.6 last week.
Trainer Aiden De Campo has two runners, last-start winners Miki Windermere (barrier three) and Frisky Styx (eight), and he has chosen to drive Frisky Styx, who enjoyed an ideal passage in the one-out, one-back position before running home gamely to win from Elwaddell over 2130m last Wednesday week.
Miki Windermere raced in the breeze before winning easily from Eastern Advance over 1780m at Northam last Saturday week. “Miki Windermere goes up in grade, while Frisky Styx won last start but wasn’t overly impressive,” said a pessimistic De Campo.
