Little China Girl set to sparkle
Jim and Wilma Giumelli’s Swandoo Harness Racing Pty Ltd purchased promising youngster Little China Girl after she had scored an impressive win on debut at Pinjarra on Monday of last week, and she should give her new owners an early dividend by winning the $30,000 Western Crown for two-year-old fillies at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Little China Girl is now trained by Mike Reed, and she has drawn the coveted No. 1 barrier in the 1730m classic in which she will be driven by Shannon Suvaljko.
“She will lead on her ear,” said Reed, who paid tribute to Kyle Harper, who drove Little China Girl to her win at Pinjarra when she began from barrier three, took the lead after 200m and was not extended in winning by three lengths from Livy Ann, rating 1.57.6 over 1684m, with final 400m sections of 28.6sec. and 27.9sec.
Harper also handled Little China Girl, a filly by Fly Like An Eagle, in five trials at Byford in December and January for a second and four wins for owner-trainer Shane Tognolini, who bought her for $37,000 at the 2024 Perth APG yearling sale. “She has been very well looked after by Kyle,” said an appreciative Reed.
Suvaljko is looking forward to driving Little China Girl, saying: “I drove her on the track last Saturday and she felt good. She should be hard to beat from barrier one.”
Little China Girl’s most serious rivals appear likely to be Miss Red Velvet, Lady Mermaid and Livy Ann. Miss Red Velvet, the only New Zealand-bred filly in the race, will be driven by Kyle Symington for Baskerville trainer Ryan Bell from out wide at barrier eight.
Miss Red Velvet, who will be making her race debut, was most impressive when she won a four-horse 1750m Byford trial last Sunday week when she beat Lady Crunch Time by eight lengths, rating 2.0.8, with final quarters of 30.8sec. and 28sec. She led for the first 400m before taking the sit behind Gypsy Artist and then dashing to the front 500m from home.
“Miss Red Velvet is a little professional who keeps on getting better and better,” said Symington. “But I’m not a fan of barrier eight.”
Lady Mermaid, also prepared by Bell, will be handled by Deni Roberts when she makes her debut, starting from the inside of the back line and virtually guaranteed a perfect sit behind the frontrunning Little China Girl. Lady Mermaid set the pace when second to Intheheartoftexas in a 1750m Byford trial last Sunday week.
Livy Ann, trained and driven by Dylan Egerton-Green, will start from barrier No. 7. She raced without cover when an encouraging second to Little China Girl on debut at Pinjarra.
Trainer-reinsman Aiden de Campo said he was looking for a good performance from debutant Wishing Belle, who will start from the No. 4 barrier. “She has run a couple of nice trials, and I will go forward and look for a sit with her,” he said.
Cease To React looks a bargain
Cease To React, a colt by former star millionaire pacer Soho Tribeca, will be a popular choice with punters when he begins from the No. 2 barrier in the $30,000 Western Crown for two-year-old colts and geldings over 1730m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Trained by Michael Young and to be handled by champion reinsman Gary Hall jnr, Cease To React also began from barrier two when he made a successful debut over 1684m at Pinjarra on Monday of last week.
He trailed the polemarker and pacemaker Nite Sniper before finishing solidly to get up and beat that colt by a neck, rating 1.57.9 after final quarters of 30sec. and 27.4sec.
Young bought Cease To React for $17,000 at the 2024 Perth APG yearling sale, and if he is successful this week his earnings will be $22,381.
Nite Sniper, trained at Pinjarra by Gary Elson and to be driven by legendary reinsman Chris Lewis, has fared poorly in the random draw and will start out wide at barrier No. 8.
However, Elson and Lewis will take heart in the knowledge that Nite Sniper in his only previous meeting with Cease To React was in a Pinjarra trial in November when Nite Sniper finished second to Hes Formidable, with Cease To React five lengths farther back in fourth place in the field of five. Obviously, both Nite Sniper and Cease To React have improved considerably since that trial on November 7.
Kyle Symington, who will drive debutant Southerner for trainer Ryan Bell from the prized No. 1 barrier, said that he was aiming to set the pace.
Southerner finished a wilting third just over five lengths behind the winner Ma Petite Dame in a 1750m Byford trial last Sunday week when he led early and then trailed the pacemaker.
“We were very disappointed with his trial, but he has come on well from that and our plan will be to lead,” said Symington.
Aiden de Campo, who trains and drives Wheelsofortune (barrier five), said that he expected the colt to be prominent, following his excellent effort to finish strongly and win a Pinjarra trial on Wednesday of last week when he beat his stablemate Wishing Belle. “Wheelsofortune is a nice mover and is tough,” said de Campo.
Intheheartoftexas, a gelding by Fly Like An Eagle, warmed up for Friday night’s event with a good trial win over 1750m at Byford last Sunday week. He raced wide early and then three back on the pegs before going forward 400m from home, hitting the front in the final 100m and winning by more than a length from Lady Mermaid.
Intheheartoftexas is trained by Sonia Zucchiatti and will be driven by her daughter Deni Roberts, who said: “He has an awkward draw, but his work and his trial have been good.”
Steno seeks two in a row
Brilliant mare Steno is poised to win the $50,000 group 3 Laurie Kennedy Free-For-All over 1730m at Gloucester Park on Friday night for the second year in a row when she resumes racing after a seven-week absence.
Steno, who will be making her first appearance as a six-year-old, will start from barrier four and her trainer Jocelyn Young is sure to take full advantage of the mare’s dazzling gate speed in a bid for the early lead.
At her most recent appearance Steno revealed explosive gate speed from out wide at barrier eight to burst to the front after 60m on her way to setting the pace and winning the group 3 Christmas Belles over 2130m on December 20. She reeled off her final three 400m sections in 27.9sec., 27.7sec. and 29sec. and won by just over a half-length from Penny Black, rating 1.55.
She won the Laurie Kennedy event 12 months ago when she led from barrier three and beat Cyclone Charlotte by 5m, rating 1.51.9 over 1730m.
Steno, a winner at 22 of her 47 starts, will clash with Water Lou, who will begin out wide at barrier seven at her first appearance for four months. Water Lou, to be driven by Shannon Suvaljko for trainer Mike Reed, will be having her first start as a four-year-old. She has already amassed $422,979 in stakemoney from 21 wins and two seconds from 28 starts.
“She is used to drawing out wide,” said Reed. “Her work has been good and whatever she does this week she will improve on.”
Water Lou impressed in winning a 2185m trial at Pinjarra on Wednesday of last week when she was not bustled at the start before Suvaljko sent her to the front after 250m. She travelled smoothly in the lead and dashed over the final quarters in 28.2sec. and 27.4sec. to win by a length from Wonderful To Fly, who finished strongly after racing in last position in the four-horse Indian file affair.
Wonderful To Fly, trained and driven by Shane Young, will start from the No. 2 barrier on Friday night and she looks set for a powerful showing at her first outing for two months.
Suvaljko said that he was delighted with Water Lou’s trackwork and her trial win, and he expects her to run a big race, first-up.
“It’s hard out wide over a mile, but this will be a good test for her,” he said. “I didn’t let her go in the trial and she won with the ear plugs in and I didn’t turn the whip. She has been beating everything easily in trackwork when she beats Hoppys Way and Blitzembye by five or six lengths. She has led and won a lot of races, but she is better sitting up.”
Reed has a good second-string runner in Friday night’s race in Montana Glory, who will be driven for the first time by Aiden de Campo from barrier five. Montana Glory had a tough run in the breeze before winning easily from Regal Cheval at a 1.57.5 rate over 2130m last Friday night.
Kyle Symington has been engaged to drive Peaceful, a stablemate of Steno, who is favourably drawn at the No. 1 barrier.
It’s the old Waverider
“It was back to the old Waverider,” declared reinsman Kyle Symington when assessing the four-year-old’s prospects in the $23,000 Christopher Dance Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Waverider, trained by Ryan Bell, is awkwardly drawn at barrier seven in the field of eight, but he should prove hard to beat, considering his eye-catching performance last Friday night when he was fifth with 200m to travel and then went four wide on the final bend as he flew home to finish a head second to the talented Im Lightning Banner over 2130m, with the final quarters being covered in 28.4sec. and 27.8sec.
“He hit the line really well and made up a lot of ground,” said Symington. “It won’t be easy this week from out wide, but I think he’s up for it. I’d say he is my best drive for the night.”
Waverider, a winner at nine of his 22 starts, will need to be at his best to beat smart rivals in Magnus Victor (barrier eight), Heez A Vibe (three) and Thelittle Master (six).
Trainer-reinsman Aiden de Campo said he was delighted with Magnus Victor’s outstanding effort to finish an extremely close third behind Im Lightning Banner and Waverider last week after the five-year-old raced in the breeze all the way.
“He is racing super, and I thought he was near on career best last start,” said de Campo. “The wide barrier is a huge leveller, and he will need a bit of luck.”
Considerable interest will surround the return to racing of outstanding filly Captainshavtime in the final event, the $21,000 Aardiebytheseaside Pace over 2536m.
The three-year-old filly trained by Greg and Skye Bond and to be handled by star driver Deni Roberts, has won at six of her nine starts and will be meeting seven far more experienced and older rivals who have had a combined tally of 705 starts for 88 wins and 190 placings. But she should prove far too smart for them.
Captainshavtime has not raced since she began from the outside barrier (No. 9) on the front line, dashed forward three wide early and then raced in the breeze before finishing third behind Cyclone Jordy in the group 1 Golden Slipper late last September. She won at her five previous starts after winning once from three outings in New Zealand.
Captainshavtime will begin from barrier four on Friday night, and Roberts is keeping her options open. “She has good gate speed, and I could also sit her up,” she said. “I’ll see how she feels.
“She is up against older horses, but she is pretty talented. She has matured a lot during her time off, and she is looking nice and strong. The 2536m won’t bother her; she is very tough.”
The Bond stable and Roberts are also hoping to begin the meeting on a winning note with the enigmatic Greatgreat Boulder starting from the outside barrier (No. 9) on the front line.
Greatgreat Boulder, a four-year-old who has raced eleven times for four wins and three seconds, finished ninth behind My Ultimate Chevron in the 2560m Northam Cup at Burwood Park last Saturday week. He swung sideways and galloped badly at the start, losing almost 80 metres. He made up a lot of lost ground and fought on, out wide, in the final lap.
“That was his first run in a stand, and his effort was very good,” said Roberts. “He will be fitter from that run.”
Greatgreat Boulder’s chief rivals are likely to be Mister Macedon and Vanderbilt. The Nathan Turvey-trained Mister Macedon will be driven by Emily Suvaljko from out wide at barrier eight. He has worked hard in the breeze at his past two outings and has performed extremely well to finish seconds to Lord Titanium and Thelittle Master.
Vanderbilt (barrier five) is trained by Ray Williams and will be driven by Dylan Egerton-Green. The New Zealand-bred five-year-old has excellent potential and he is overdue for a change of luck.
