Bonds Seek A Hat-Trick
Champion trainers Greg and Skye Bond have decided to roll the dice and are looking for untried standing start pacer Captains Creek to win the $30,000 Westside Auto Marathon Handicap over the testing 3309m journey at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The New Zealand-bred four-year-old Captains Creek is the only runner in this event who has not contested a standing start race, and has not raced beyond 2242m, with his two attempts at that trip at Narrogin producing one second and one third placing.
Captains Creek, whose recent form in mobile events has been good, is one of four frontmarkers in the Marathon. He will begin from barrier two, with smart frontrunner Dawson at No. 1.
Captains Creek will be driven by Deni Roberts, who will ponder her options, whether to attempt to burst to the front and set the pace or to take a sit behind Dawson, who has warmed up for the Marathon with splendid efforts in stands at his past three starts for astute trainer Colin Brown.
The Bonds and Roberts are hoping to complete a hat-trick of wins in the Marathon, after having been successful with Carana in 2024 and Gee Heza Sport last year. The Bond stable also won the Marathon with Himself in 2022.
Carana and Gee Heza Sport were co-backmarkers off 30m, and Himself began off the front mark. Carana had won 12 stands before winning the Marathon; Himself had won three, and Gee Heza Sport had won six.
Recent form points to the 50m backmarker Luvbite and Brickies Dream, the sole runner off 40m, being prominent.
Luvbite, trained by Michael Young, will be driven by Gary Hall Jnr who has won the Marathon five times, scoring with Im Themightyquinn (2010), Code Red (2012), Runrunjimmydunn (2019), Rebel With A Grin (2020) and Youre So Fine (2023).
Luvbite has had 15 starts in WA for seven wins, five of them in stands, including the 2560m York Cup at Northam’s Burwood Park from the 50m mark, the BOTRA Cup off 40m and another 2503m stand at Gloucester Park last Friday night when he began from 40m, raced in eighth position and sustained a powerful burst to get up in the final stride and beat his stablemate Stormy Vista by a head.
Stormy Vista, to be handled by Emily Suvaljko, has contested standing-start events at his past eight starts for three wins and three placings.
Brickies Dream started from the 30m in last year’s Marathon when he ran home strongly from sixth at the bell to finish fourth. He has raced in ten stands for two wins, one second, four thirds and three fourths.
Off Shore Is Set To Shine On Debut
New Zealand-bred colt Off Shore will make his Australian debut when he contests the $21,000 Allwood Stud Pace for two-year-olds over 2100m at Gloucester Park on Friday night, and he should develop into a leading hope in the $150,000 Golden Slipper on September 25.
He will be driven by his trainer Gary Hall Jnr, and his form in two appearances at Cambridge early this year suggest he will be hard to beat despite a tough draw out wide at barrier eight.
He began from the outside in the field of three in a 1700m event on March 26 for trainer-reinsman Tony Herlihy and finished second to Seaside Legacy, who rated 1.57.1, before he lined up at barrier four in a field of four over 1700m a fortnight later.
Herlihy did not bustle Off Shore at the start before the colt got to the front after 120m and then set a solid pace. He won by almost two lengths from Layton David, rating 1.56.3 after a final 800m of 56.1sec.
Baskerville trainer Ryan Bell prepares four of the ten runners in Friday night’s event, with Liam Elliott giving punters a valuable lead by choosing to drive Valentino (barrier seven) ahead of stablemates Soaringforglory (Aiden De Campo; barrier two), Hunger (Ajay Markham; barrier three) and Talktomegoose (Deni Roberts; barrier four).
Valentino, a colt by Lazarus, made a successful debut when overcame difficulties to beat Expressing and Funny As over 2185m at Pinjarra on June 8. He hung out in the score-up and raced greenly before working in the breeze.
He was more tractable when he won a four-horse Byford trial by last Saturday, in which he beat Mister Anderson by eleven lengths, rating 2.1.3 over 2150m after sprinting over the final 400m in 27.5sec.
Soaringforglory, a Fly Like An Eagle filly, has been prepared for her two starts by Banjup trainer Michael Young before being transferred to Bell’s stable.
She raced in the one-out, two-back position before wilting to finish tenth behind Nevele Arma in a Diamond Classic heat last Monday week. That followed an impressive debut over 1609m at Bunbury earlier in the month when she led from barrier two and defeated Forever Strong by five lengths, rating 1.58.4 after a final quarter of 28.5sec.
Rip Tide, a Downbytheseaside colt trained by Terry Ferguson, and to be driven by Ryan Warwick, is the sole runner off the back line, and he looks capable of a bold showing, following two placings behind the brilliant Hez The Boss and a close second to Beau Para before finishing sixth behind Hez the Boss in the Pearl Classic last Friday night.
The Young stable will be pinning its faith on the polemarker Edge Eleven, who will start from the coveted No. 1 barrier. The American Ideal filly has an edge in experience on her nine rivals, having raced eleven times for a win and four placings.
She was successful at Pinjarra on Monday this week when she trailed the pacemaker Sapari and ran home solidly along the sprint lane to beat that pacer, rating 2.1.3 over the 2185m journey after dashing home over the final 400m in 27.9sec.
Magnificent Storm Poised For A Milestone
Veteran superstar pacer Magnificent Storm looks set to notch an important milestone, his 50th victory, by proving the master of his ten rivals in the $31,000 Vale Roselyn MacKinnon Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Under the preferential barrier draw conditions, Magnificent Storm will line up on the outside of the front line, and the Ray Williams-trained nine-year-old should prove too fast and too strong for the opposition which includes former sensational juvenile Never Ending, top-flight mare Penny Black and successful Free-For-All performer Bettors Pride.
Aiden De Campo will weigh up his options at the start, whether to launch Magnificent Storm out of the gate or to restrain him and wait for the opportune moment to dash him forward and take the lead or sit outside the pacemaker.
Adding interest to the race will be the appearance of former star juvenile performer Never Ending, who will begin out wide at barrier eight at his first start for five weeks, since he resumed after a seven-month absence and finished eighth behind Bettors Pride in the 2536m Winter Cup.
The Justin Prentice-trained Never Ending, to be driven by Gary Hall Jnr, has won at 16 of his 33 starts, with his most recent success coming on July 26, 2024, when he beat Talks Up A Storm in a 1730m Free-For-All.
The Michael Young-trained Penny Black will line up at barrier seven for driver Emily Suvaljko at her first appearance for four months. The six-year-old has been working attractively and Young is aiming to have her at her peak for the rich feature events for mares later in the year.
New Zealand-bred seven-year-old Lucca is on the comeback trail, and trainer Dan Walsh has the American Ideal gelding fit and ready to return to the winning list. He will start from the No. 5 barrier in the RAC Members Pace over 2130m, and Toby Lynn is expected to make good use of his excellent early speed in a bid to set the pace.
Lucca also began from barrier five in a 2130m event last Friday night when he raced without cover throughout and fought on grandly to finish a close second to the pacemaker Soho Shakedown.
D Mac Ready To Turn the Tables
D Mac, the brilliant winner of the Group 1 Golden Slipper last September, is firmly on target for the $200,000 WA Derby on October 30, and he will be strongly favoured to turn the tables on his classy stablemate Im Stealthy when they clash in the 2130m ULE Hoof Oil Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
They are two of trainer Gary Hall senior’s four three-year-olds in the event which is sure to be a highlight of the ten-event program. Hall’s other runners are He Is Talking (Dylan Egerton-Green; barrier two on the back line) and Bumrah (Maddison Brown; barrier two).
D Mac, to be driven by Gary Hall Jnr, has appeared twice in his current campaign when he raced in the breeze and finished a first-up second to Skinny Dippin and then began from the outside of the back line and finished second to Im Stealthy last Friday week.
Im Stealthy started out wide at barrier eight and raced four wide early before surging to the front after 550m and setting a fast pace on his way to winning by a length from D Mac, who settled down in tenth position and was seventh, out three wide at the bell before running home with great determination.
With D Mac drawn better (at barrier six) than Im Stealthy, to be handled by Stuart McDonald from the outside of the front line at barrier No. 9, D Mac looks set to turn the tables on Friday night.
He Is Talking should be able to slot into a handy position from his back-line draw and should figure in the finish. He took the lead from Bumrah after 350m and then enjoyed a perfect passage behind the pacemaker before finishing third.
El Mystro, trained and driven by Robbie Williams, will be making a welcome return to racing when he begins from the No. 5 barrier for his first start since finishing fourth in the Golden Slipper last September.
He is a promising pacer who won at three of his eight starts as a two-year-old. He warmed up for his first-up assignment with a smart win in a 2185m trial at Pinjarra three Wednesdays ago when he raced in the breeze and beat Skyhigh Adda by more than two lengths, rating 1.58.1 after final quarters of 27.3sec. and 28.4sec.
Proposition Joe and Ideal Beach are talented youngsters who look set to be strong WA Derby contenders. Proposition Joe, to be driven by Deni Roberts for trainers Greg and Skye Bond, is awkwardly drawn at barrier No. 7, but cannot be underestimated.
Proposition Joe resumed after a four-month absence in fine style, racing wide early and then in the breeze before dashing over the final quarters in 28.4sec. and 28.3sec. and winning from El Raes Girl and Maas Attack over 2190m at Northam on July 18.
Trent Wheeler will handle Ideal Beach for Boyanup trainer Justin Prentice when he begins out wide at barrier eight at his first appearance for 14 weeks. He has won at five of his ten starts.
