Golden Nugget in Waverider’s sights
An explosive burst of sizzling speed carried exciting four-year-old Waverider from seventh and last on the home bend to a superb victory in the $23,000 Christopher Dance Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
It was a compelling performance which enhanced the pacer’s prospects in the rich Golden Nugget late in the year.
“His turn of foot is unreal, and there are exciting times ahead,” said reinsman Kyle Symington after Waverider’s victory by a length over another smart four-year-old Thelittle Master.
“The Golden Nugget is his main aim,” said managing part-owner Kevin Jeavons, whose previous Golden Nugget runner was Shockwave, who ran home strongly to get up and win the big race by a head from Patrickthepiranha in December 2019. Waverider is prepared by Ryan Bell, who also trained Shockwave.
Waverider was the $2.40 favourite from the No. 6 barrier and Symington restrained him at the start, with $5 chance Heez A Vibe holding out $7 chance Magnus Victor, who began speedily from the outside barrier but was unable to cross to the front.
“I just kept telling myself to keep patient,” said Symington, who waited until 250m from home to send Waverider forward. Magnus Victor had then just got his head in front. Waverider was switched six wide on the home turn and he sprouted wings to burst to the front 75m from the post.
Waverider, who was purchased for $60,000 at the 2022 Perth APG yearling sale, now has raced 23 times for ten wins, eight placings and $203,368 in prizemoney. He is by American sire Downbytheseaside and is the fourth foal out of Premium Copper, a mare who was retired after her five starts as a two-year-old in 2014 produced one placing --- a third in a five-horse field at Bunbury when she finished 72 metres behind the winner Delightful Jade.
Captainshavtime resumes in style
New Zealand-bred filly Captainshavtime resumed after a 19-week absence in fine style when she coasted to an effortless victory in the $21,000 Aardiebytheseaside Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The three-year-old, trained by Greg and Skye Bond and driven by Deni Roberts, was the $1.30 favourite from barrier four, and she burst straight to the front, despite the plan to drive her conservatively with a sit.
“I had planned to sit her up, first-up, following a helmet,” said Roberts. “But she just left the gate too well. However, she got away with an easy lead time and a casual first quarter (32.1sec.).”
Captainshavtime was not extended in running the final three 400m sections in 29.6sec., 28.2sec. and 29.3sec. and she won by 4m from five-year-old mare Unlucky, a $17 chance who trailed her throughout.
“The WA Oaks later this year will be her main target, and also the WA Derby if she measures up,” said Roberts.
Captainshavtime is raced by Team Bond in partnership with the filly’s owner-breeder, Invercargill lawyer Murray Little. Captainshavtime is by American stallion Captain Crunch and is the first foal out of Little-bred mare Betterthanbrie, who had 44 starts for five wins, 12 placings and $58,897.
Captainshavtime won once from three appearances in New Zealand and her seven WA starts have produced six wins and a third placing (in the group 1 Golden Slipper last September).
Steno stakes her claim
Brilliant speedster Steno enhanced her reputation as one of the best pacing mares in Australia when she outclassed her rivals in the group 3 Laurie Kennedy Free-For-All over 1730m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Her sparkling frontrunning performance which saw her speed over the final 800m in 55.3sec. and beat stablemate Peaceful by four lengths at a 1.52.6 rate gave further proof that she deserves a start in the $200,000 Queen Elizabeth Mile over 1609m at Menangle on May 10.
“I would love Steno to be invited to run in this race in Sydney,” said trainer-driver Jocelyn Young. “She has all the times on the board and should measure up to the best mares in the country. I can’t see that there is a mare faster than her.”
If Steno is invited to run in the Queen Elizabeth Mile, Young would consider keeping her on the eastern seaboard to contest the group 1 $150,000 Golden Girl Sprint over 1660m at Brisbane’s Albion Park on July 19.
Young is looking at starting Steno in the $50,000 Lord Mayor’s Cup over 2130m next Friday week, followed by the $35,000 Golden Girls Mile over 1684m at Pinjarra on March 17 and the group 2 $75,000 Empress Stakes over 2536m at Gloucester Park on April 18.
Steno, who was having her first start for seven weeks on Friday night, was the $1.20 favourite who had no trouble in charging straight to the front from the No. 4 barrier. The polemarker Peaceful ($11) then had a perfect trail behind Steno, while the brilliant Water Lou ($10) was not bustled out from out wide at barrier seven.
Water Lou, resuming after a four-month absence, was seventh at the bell and impressed when she surged home, out wide, from last on the home bend to finish an eye-catching third, a head behind Peaceful.
Young said that Steno was having her first start for seven weeks because there had been no suitable races for her. “So, I gave her a fortnight off and then aimed her at tonight’s race,” she said.
The six-year-old Steno, bred in New South Wales by her owner Dianne Kelly, has amassed $541,203 in prizemoney from 23 wins and 13 placings from 48 starts. Five-year-old Peaceful has been a splendid understudy, having earned $193,431 from eight wins, eleven seconds and four thirds from 34 starts.
Hampton Banner’s purple patch
Seven weeks ago, veteran pacer Hampton Banner had a losing sequence of 22, but trainer Debra Lewis has rejuvenated the eight-year-old who has now won at three of his past four starts.
Jocelyn Young has formed an excellent association with Hampton Banner, and she has been in the sulky for the New Zealand-bred gelding’s three recent Gloucester Park victories, the latest on Friday night when he was a $7.50 chance from the outside barrier (No. 9) on the front line in the $31,000 Minstrel’s Pacing Cup Free-For-All over 2130m.
Hampton Banner began speedily, but was unable to get to the front and he raced three wide and then in the breeze for the first lap before Gary Hall jnr sent the $3 favourite Dalvey Robyn forward to race outside the pacemaker and $4.80 chance High Price.
Young waited until 230m from home before sending Hampton Banner forward, out three wide, and Hampton Banner and Dalvey Robyn went to the line locked together before Hampton Banner lifted strongly to win by a half-head, rating 1.56.6 after final quarters of 27.8sec. and 28.3sec.
This improved Hampton Banner’s record to 95 starts for 18 wins and 20 placings for stakes of $362,289.
“We went forward pretty hard,” said Young. “But as soon as I saw Dominus Factum going forward, I knew that we weren’t going to get to the front. I don’t know whether before Hampton Banner has done so much work and still ran on.
“Obviously, we were happy to get cover after Dalvey Robyn got to the breeze. But we were travelling pretty well without cover. This move put pressure on the leader, and I had the perfect drag into the race.”
Ventura’s early speed is an asset
New Zealand-bred five-year-old Ventura was recognised as a standing-start specialist with seven of his first nine wins coming in stands.
But now, under the care of trainer-reinsman Gary Hall jnr, he is flourishing in mobile events in which one of his greatest assets is his sparkling gate speed.
Hall made full use of Ventura’s great speed from behind the mobile when he got the gelding away to a flying start in the $27,000 Dot Moore Hit the Dance Floor Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Ventura, the $1.40 favourite, sped straight to the front from the No. 3 barrier and after a slow lead time of 37.8sec. and comfortable opening quarters of 31.3sec. and 30.7sec. he dashed over the final 400m sections in 28.6sec. and 27.3sec. to win by a length from $10 chance Rockandrollartist, who fought on gamely after working in the breeze for much of the way.
Ventura rated 1.57.6 in notching his fourth mobile win from his past nine starts. After winning at two of his 15 New Zealand starts Ventura has had 21 starts in WA for eleven wins and five placings. He now has earned $134,114 and looks set for further successes.
“This looked his race on paper,” said Hall. “He deserved the win, and it was good for him to have a soft win.”
Mister Macedon loves the breeze
Tough eight-year-old Mister Macedon thrives on working hard in his races, and he was seen in his favourite role in the breeze when he scored a fighting victory in the $21,000 Team Bond Leading Trainers Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Polemarker and $71 outsider Sporting Grace set the pace after resisting early challenges from Name In Lights ($71) and the $1.95 favourite Vanderbilt, who raced three wide for the first 500m before eventually getting to the front. Mister Macedon, who began out wide at barrier eight, settled down in tenth position before Emily Suvaljko sent him forward to move to the breeze after a lap.
Mister Macedon applied plenty of pressure on Vanderbilt in the final circuit before taking a narrow lead with about 100m to travel and beating Vanderbilt by a half neck, rating 1.56.8.
Mister Macedon raced on four consecutive Friday nights in January before trainer Nathan Turvey gave him last Friday week off.
“He didn’t race the previous Friday night, and that obviously worked wonders,” said Suvaljko. “He travelled the best he has ever travelled. He loves being up there on the pace, so we drive him like that (in the breeze) every week. He is Nathan’s favourite horse around the stables.”
Mister Macedon, a former Victorian performer, was a cheap purchase for Turvey last year and the gelding now has had 18 starts in WA for four wins and seven placings for Turvey and part-owners Michael Hill, Justin Bugg and Adrian Pensini. Friday night’s win improved Mister Macedon’s record to 85 starts for ten wins, 28 placings and $107,657.
Greatgreat Boulder, the $3.60 second favourite in Friday night’s race, ruined his chances at the start when he overraced in the score-up, contacted the arm of the mobile barrier and broke into a bad gallop, losing several lengths. He made up a good deal of ground to finish seventh.
“Greatgreat Boulder launched at the gate, hit the arm and galloped,” said his driver Deni Roberts. “He used to do that quite often but hadn’t done it for a while.”
Sugar Apple survives a protest
Sugar Apple, with one win from his previous 22 starts going into the $23,000 Belly Up Pace over 1730m at Gloucester Park on Friday night, bounced back to form when he came from last to win as the fourth favourite at $7.10.
But the New Zealand-bred six-year-old had to survive a protest lodged by Gary Hall jnr, the driver of the runner-up, the $4.60 chance Regal Cheval.
Hall’s grounds for protesting were that Sugar Apple, driven by his trainer Lindsay Harper, had seriously affected Regal Cheval’s winning prospects by making contact with the nearside wheel of Regal Cheval’s sulky about 900m from home, causing it to deflate and resulting in the gelding being badly hampered in the final circuit.
The protest was dismissed, with officiating steward Rick Mance saying: “Considering the winning margin of one and a half metres and the manner in which both horses finished off the race the stewards could not be satisfied that had the incident not occurred Regal Cheval would have finished ahead of Sugar Apple.”
Hall said that having a flat tyre cost Regal Cheval from winning, while Harper contended that Sugar Apple won comfortably and was pulling away on the line.
Regal Cheval was smartest to begin from the outside barrier in the field of six but was unable to cross to the front, with Rock Artist, a $3.10 chance, booting up from the No. 2 barrier to hold the lead. It was in this early stage that Rock Artist and Regal Cheval locked sulky wheels.
Regal Cheval then raced in the one-out, one-back position before finishing solidly and getting to a narrow lead in the home straight before being overtaken by Sugar Apple, who finished strongly from fifth at the 350m and went four wide on the home bend to gain the upper hand in the closing stages.
The New Zealand-bred Sugar Apple, a six-year-old by Sweet Lou, has earned $141,098 from 14 wins and 14 placings from 65 starts. A winner of one race in New Zealand, one in Victoria and eight in New South Wales, Sugar Apple has had 32 starts in WA for four wins and eight placings.
Young picks a winner
Prominent trainer Michael Young was captivated by the looks of Soho Tribeca colt Cease To React as a yearling and he has no regrets that he outlaid $17,000 to buy the youngster for $17,000 at the 2024 Perth APG yearling sale.
It was a wise decision, with Cease To React winning in good style at his first two starts, the second coming at Gloucester Park on Friday night when Gary Hall jnr drove him to victory in the $30,000 Western Crown for two-year-old colts and geldings.
This followed Cease To React’s debut victory over Nite Sniper at Pinjarra late last month. The colt, raced by Young, Dave Boyd, Eddie Burchill and Barry Stokes, is proving a bargain, with prizemoney of $22,381 from his first two appearances.
“He just caught my eye,” said Young. “He was the best-looking horse at the parade of yearlings last year before the sales. He looked really athletic.”
Cease To React was the $2.20 favourite from the No. 2 barrier on Friday night when he raced without cover early and then in the one-out, one-back position before starting a three-wide move 550m from home and taking the lead 100m from the post and winning by 2m from the pacemaker Southerner ($11).
Butter Up, a stablemate of the winner, was the sole runner on the back line and a $5.50 chance. He trailed Southerner all the way and was hampered for room in the closing stages when an unlucky third.
“Cease To React is a little professional,” said Hall. “On the line he seemed to have a bit in reserve. He got off the gate well and then put in a few rough ones before he settled well and was like a four or five-year-old the way he travelled.”
Cease To React is the second foal out of Orphan Reactor, who earned $25,896 from three wins (at Bunbury, Albany and Pinjarra) and eleven placings from 37 starts.
Miss Red Velvet bred to succeed
Miss Red Velvet looks certain to follow in the footsteps of her outstanding relations Maczaffair, Golden State and A Fair Ol Dance, following her most impressive debut when she scored a stylish victory in the $30,000 Western Crown for two-year-old fillies over 1730m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Prominent owners Albert and Julie Walmsley enjoyed wonderful successes with Maczaffair and Golden State, and Miss Red Velvet, purchased for $15,000 as a yearling in New Zealand last year, is certainly bred to succeed.
Miss Red Velvet upheld the family tradition of winning on debut, following her half-sister Maczaffair’s successful debut as a two-year-old at Pinjarra in March 2016, and her half-brother Golden State’s debut win as a two-year-old at Bunbury in April 2017.
Maczaffair went on to win the group 3 Gold Bracelet as a two-year-old, the group 2 Daintys Daughter Classic and the group 1 WA Oaks in 2017 and the 2018 group 2 WASBA Breeders Stakes five months after finishing second to Ultimate Machete in the group 1 Golden Nugget.
She won 21 times in WA before travelling to America where she won another 15 times before being retired with earnings of $693,515 from 36 wins and 39 placings from 168 starts.
Golden State won the Caduceus Club Classic as a three-year-old in February 2018 and was retired with stakes of $192,186 from 13 wins and 15 placings from 60 starts.
Another of Miss Red Velvet’s half-brothers A Fair Ol Dance had 104 starts for 26 wins, 41 placings and $338,735. He won nine times in Victoria before winning another 17 races in the United States.
Miss Red Velvet is by American sire Always B Miki and is the 14TH foal out of Presidential Affair, who was a failure on the track, having been retired after managing one placing from 14 starts --- a second in a minor event at Forbury Park in May 2005. Her career earnings were $1356.
Miss Red Velvet was a $7.70 chance from out wide at barrier No. 7 in Friday night’s race in which Little China Girl, the polemarker and easy Pinjarra winner late in January, dominated betting as the $1.14 favourite.
Little China Girl set the pace after a modest lead time of 8.1sec. and opening quarters of 31sec. and 30.8sec., with Kyle Symington content to restrain Miss Red Velvet back to last after starting out wide at barrier seven.
Symington sent Miss Red Velvet forward with about a lap to travel. She followed the three-wide run of $11 chance Livy Ann before finishing strongly to win by just under a length from that filly after final quarters of 28.7sec. and 29sec. Miss Red Velvet rated 1.58.7.
“Miss Red Velvet is professional, and with that speed she is going to win a fair few races,” said trainer Ryan Bell. “She is not eligible for Westbred or Sales races, but will be set for the Gold Bracelet, the Champagne Classic and the Diamond Classic.”
