Prentice runners are ready to fire
Astute trainer Justin Prentice has prepared three stable stars, Mighty Ronaldo, Tricky Miki and Jawsoflincoln, for an all-out assault on the $50,000 Lord Mayor’s Cup over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
These three pacers will be racing first-up, and Prentice is confident they will perform strongly.
He is following his successful formula when he produced the same three horses for the Lord Mayor’s Cup 12 months ago.
Tricky Miki, racing first-up for nine weeks, won the Cup, with Mighty Ronaldo, having his first outing for 14 weeks, finishing fourth, and Jawsoflincoln, having his fourth start in WA, leading into the Cup after an absence of seven month, was fifth.
On Friday night Mighty Ronaldo will be reappearing after a 15-week absence, and Tricky Miki and Jawsoflincoln will be racing for the first time for ten weeks.
Prentice will drive Mighty Ronaldo from the No. 3 barrier, and he has engaged Trent Wheeler for Tricky Miki from the No. 2 barrier on the back line, and Kyle Symington for Jawsoflincoln from the outside of the front line.
Prentice, who also won the 2011 Lord Mayor’s Cup when he drove the Tony Svilicich-trained Mysta Magical Mach to victory over Can Return Fire, said that Mighty Ronaldo went for a spell after finishing third behind Minstrel and Mister Smartee in the WA Pacing Cup on November 8 last year, and that Jawsoflincoln and Tricky Miki went to the paddock after competing against each other over 2526m on December 13 when Tricky Miki led from barrier one and won from Jumpingjackmac, and Jawsoflincoln ran on well into fourth place.
“Mighty Ronaldo had a month off and Tricky Miki and Jawsoflincoln had a couple of weeks off,” said Prentice. “Mighty Ronaldo is working really well, and so, too, is Jawsoflincoln who has a terrible draw. But eleven is a handy draw for Tricky Miki.
“Mighty Ronaldo and Tricky Miki should be close enough on the speed before running home.”
The conditions of the group 3 Lord Mayor’s Cup this year stipulated that mares would draw inside the male pacers --- and this advantage has resulted in Water Lou (barrier one) and Steno (barrier two) coming into the race with excellent winning prospects.
Four-year-old Water Lou will be driven by Shannon Suvaljko for Henley Brook trainer Mike Reed, who has prepared the winner of the Lord Mayor’s Cup (which was first run in 1966) five times --- scoring with Manageable (1988), Skippers Trick (2000), Rich And Spoilt (2001), Tricky Vic (2002) and Kiwi Legend (2017).
Water Lou boasts a superb record of 29 starts for 21 wins, three placings and $427,557. She resumed racing last Friday week after a four-month absence when she began out wide from barrier seven, was restrained to the rear and was eighth and last on the home bend storming home, out five wide, to finish an eye-catching third behind the pacemaker Steno, who coasted to a four-length victory over Peaceful.
“Water Lou has won most of her races when leading,” said Suvaljko. “She has also won when racing with a sit and from the breeze. She is very versatile.
“She is good enough to lead and win, and good enough to sit and win. Water Lou will handle competing against seasoned Free-For-All performers as good as gold. I will wait until Mike returns from New Zealand to discuss tactics.”
Trainer-driver Jocelyn Young also said that six-year-old Steno was capable of beating her Free-For-All rivals, saying: “It shouldn’t be a problem. It’s not the strongest Free-For-All, and Steno gets her chance to run a good race.”
Steno possesses sparkling gate speed and Young is certain to make a bold bid for the early lead and then dictate terms in front. Steno is in top form with all-the-way victories at her first two outings in her current campaign. She has amassed $541,203 from 23 wins and 13 placings from 48 starts.
Steno and Water Lou will have to buck the odds to win the Cup, with the only mares to have been successful in the race being Windy Jean in 1978 and Another One For Me in 2012.
Roberts opts for newcomer
Star driver Deni Roberts has driven brilliant pacer Christopher Dance at his four starts in WA for three wins, including an easy victory in the WA Derby last November, and she has given punters a valuable lead by choosing to handle Justcallmemiki, a newcomer to the powerful Greg and Skye Bond stable, in preference to Christopher Dance and Thenu Came Along in the Torque Australia Chandon Four-Year-Old Classic at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“We hold a good hand in this race, and I had the choice of the three horses,” said Roberts. “Justcallmemiki gives me a good feel at home, while Christopher Dance is pretty classy, and Thenu Came Along has a perfect draw at barrier two.”
Stuart McDonald has been engaged to drive Christopher Dance, who will start from the outside barrier in the classy field of five runners. Dylan Egerton-Green will drive Thenu Came Along.
Justcallmemiki will start from the No. 1 barrier at his first Australian appearance and his first outing for 17 weeks --- since he finished an inconspicuous eighth in a field of eleven in a 1980m event at Addington on October 25. He raced at the rear and was twelfth and last with 650m to travel before just battling on in the home straight.
His previous appearance was a fortnight earlier, in the group 1 Flying Stakes over 1980m when he was restrained at the start from barrier six before dashing forward three wide to move to the breeze after 600m and then gaining an ideal sit in the one-out, one-back position. But he failed to flatter, wilting to finish last in the field of 13.
Justcallmemiki was a winner four starts ago when he began from the outside of the back line in a field of twelve over 1980m at Addington last September. He settled down in sixth spot before going forward to take up the running after 400m, and then 100m later taking the sit behind stablemate Wish Me Luck. He gained an inside run in the home straight and took the lead 120m from the post before winning by a neck from Wish Me Luck.
It was an encouraging performance as a three-year-old against four-year-old Wish Me Luck, who has a record of 17 starts for six wins, five seconds, two thirds and $101,735 in prizemoney.
Justcallmemiki has raced twelve times for four wins, two thirds and $36,806. Christopher Dance’s record is eleven starts for five wins, four placings and $207,505, while the WA-bred Thenu came Along has had 35 starts for eight wins, 13 placings and $118,668.
The three Bond runners and the Kevin Charles-trained Manhattan Moon will clash with Baskerville trainer Ryan Bell’s talented pacer Waverider, whose four starts this season at Gloucester Park have produced two wins and two seconds. Waverider will be handled by stable driver Kyle Symington.
“If it was a full field, I would say waverider would go really good,” said Bell. “But it looks much harder in a five-horse race.”
Bell is looking for solid performances from his three-year-old fillies Wicked Lover and Bettagetonpip in the 2130mm Hoist Torque Australia Pace, with the fillies on trial for the $100,000 APG Sales Classic the following Friday night. Wicked Lover will bedriven by Kyle Symington from barrier five, and Bettagetonpip will start from the outside in the field of eight with Trent Wheeler in the sulky.
“Wicked Lover is going really well, and she needs to be on pace which means she probably will be in the breeze,” said Bell. “Bettagetonpip (a winner at five of her ten starts) will be having her first start since early September. She will go back at the start, and I hope she will get to the line hard.”
Its Maa Time, trained and driven by Aiden de Campo, will begin from barrier four and should take plenty of beating. A winner at three of her five starts, she had no luck at her latest outing when seventh behind Jaxs Ideal last Friday night.
“She copped a lot of pressure and then copped interference in the last lap,” said de Campo. “I wasn’t going to start her this week, but she pulled up a lot better than I thought she would, and she worked very well this morning (Tuesday). Hopefully, she will find the front and not cop so much pressure this week.”
Leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond hold a strong hand in the race with Twilight Tango (barrier two) and Delulu (barrier seven) engaged. Deni Roberts will handle Delulu, who looks a strong chance after three wins and two third placings from her five starts. Twilight Tango, who will be driven by Tom Nally, has raced seven times for one win when she beat stablemate Belly Up at Gloucester Park last July.
Trial points to Chasing Hill
An excellent trial at Byford last Saturday was a strong pointer that Chasing Hill would make a successful return to racing after a spell by winning the opening event, the $21,000 HTA Taking You To New Heights Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Six-year-old Chasing Hill is trained by Michael Young and will be driven by Emily Suvaljko, who is looking after Young’s team of pacers while he is away in Brisbane as a member of the Gloucester Gurus slot group which will be represented by star reinsman Gary Hall jnr at the Ultimate Driver Championship at Albion Park on Friday and Saturday nights this week.
Chasing Hill, who has not raced since early last September, is awkwardly drawn at barrier six, with Young saying: “He’s tough, so he will go forward. His strength is his asset. I think he is back to the form two preps ago when he ran second in the Albany Cup.”
Chasing Hill was driven by Hall in Saturday’s 2150m trial when he took the lead after 100m and set the pace. Stablemate Montana D J was driven by Suvaljko and he trailed Chasing Hill until he took the lead with 250m to travel and won by 4m from Chasing Hill. Neither pacer was extended in the home straight. The final quarters were run in 28.7sec. and 27.4sec.
Suvaljko will also drive Ideal Tomado (race two), Montana D J (race three) and Penny Black (race four) for Young. Ideal Tomado, who is working in good style, faces a stern test from the outside barrier in the field of nine in the 2130m HTA Reaching For The Top Pace, but Montana D J and Penny Black are expected to prove hard to beat.
Montana D J has not raced since last July, but he has the ability to overcome starting from the outside of the back line in the Happy Birthday Matthew Needham Pace over 2130m.
“Montana D J won the trial with the plugs in,” said Young. “We will be following out the gate speed, I reckon, so we will get through nicely and be hard to beat. He is coming back from injury. He is a nice horse, and I don’t think he has lost any of his ability.”
Young said that the plan for Penny Black, who is favourably drawn at the No. 2 barrier in the 2536m Hoist Solutions Pace at her first appearance since finishing second to Steno in the group 3 Christmas Belles on December 20, would be to set the pace.
“If the plan to lead doesn’t unfold, then it will be breeze and win,” said Young.
My Ultimate Chevron, a winner at Northam for Young three starts ago, has been sold and will be driven by Kyle Symington for trainer Ryan Bell in this event in which he will start from barrier five.
“If he brings his Michael Young form for us in a week, he can run top three,” said Bell.
Rockandrollartist, trained and driven by Aiden de Campo, will start from the No. 2 barrier on the back line, and is capable of a strong showing. “He is flying and barrier eleven is not bad for him,” said de Campo. “He just needs a little bit of luck.”
A good test for Soho Shakedown
Inexperienced colt Soho Shakedown has made a bright start to his career with his first five starts producing four wins and a neck second, and he faces a moment of truth when he lines up against smart three-year-olds Belly Up, Captain Stirling, By Gee By Jingo and Hold The Ammo in the $21,000 HTA Setting New Standards In Hoisting Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Soho Shakedown is trained by Kim Prentice and will be driven by his regular reinsman Mitch Miller from the No. 4 barrier.
“It’s a small field (of eight runners), but there’s plenty of talent in it,” said Miller. “We have drawn the worst of the best three runners, and he hasn’t raced against the best three-year-olds yet, so this will be a good test.
“He has good gate speed but whether he can get across Belly Up (barrier one) and Captain Stirling (barrier two) might be a bit of a question. He hasn’t run super time yet, but he gives me the feel that he will only run as fast as the horse on his outside.
“Even at Pinjarra on Monday (when he led and won by more than three lengths, rating 1.58.2 over 2185m) he ran some very good sectionals, but his final 100m was in reverse. He has a lot of ability, so I think this will be a good test for him. He gives every indication that he is pretty smart.”
Belly Up, to be driven by Deni Roberts for leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond, has won at two of his eight starts and will be racing first-up after a spell.
He last appeared when he broke soon after the start and took no competitive part in finishing a distant last behind Cyclone Jordy in the Golden Slipper on September 27. He was a winner at his previous start, beating Captain Stirling.
“I’m excited to have Belly Up back racing,” said Roberts. “He has grown up a lot and matured heaps, so hopefully he will be more tractable this time. He has a good draw and should run a nice race.”
Captain Stirling, trained and driven by Dylan Egerton-Green, will be having his first start since finishing a neck second to Belly Up in the group 1 Westbred Classic on September 6. He is a smart colt who is sure to prove very hard to beat.
Trainer-reinsman Aiden de Campo is confident that five-year-old Magnus Victor will prove hard to beat when he begins from the No. 1 barrier in the $23,000 HTA Reaching For The Top Pace.
“He has been racing well and if he finds the front it always helps,” said de Campo. “Spyglass (barrier two) was very impressive in winning last week, but hopefully finding the front will be the key to Magnus Victor getting the cash.”
