Seaside Magic overcomes setbacks
Promising young pacer Seaside Magic has overcome some worrying injury concerns as a two-year-old last year and he gave a sample of his ability when he scored a smart victory in the $50,000 Team Bond Pearl Classic for three-year-old colts and geldings over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“He had his fair share of problems, suffering a hairline crack in his fibula and then damaging a rear pedal bone,” said ace trainer-reinsman Aiden De Campo after guiding the gelding to a convincing win over Captain Stirling and Major Disco.
The race changed dramatically soon after the start when the well-fancied $3.70 second favourite Elite Fleet broke into a bad gallop when in front, with Seaside Magic immediately behind him.
Fortunately, De Campo was able to avoid interference, and he was then able to gain a perfect trail behind $12 chance Im Massimo, who had begun swiftly from out wide at barrier eight.
“I was always happy to race with a trail,” explained De Campo. “It was no great problem to avoid Elite Fleet. Dylan (Egerton-Green, driving $4.40 chance Captain Stirling) was courteous to me and gave me room to get around the galloping horse.
“When there is a horse galloping like that everyone tries to give others a bit of room to get through. So, Dylan looked after me there, and I was able to gain the pie ride behind Im Massimo.
“When I changed direction (getting off the pegs 220m from home) Seaside Magic dropped the bridle and I had to get up him. But once we straightened up it felt like he wasn’t going to get beaten.”
Captain Stirling took a narrow lead approaching the home turn before Seaside Magic surged past him at the 100m and won by a length, rating 1.57 and improving his record to twelve starts for four wins, four placings and $51,883 for De Campo’s Four Diamonds pacing syndicate and eleven stable clients.
Major Disco, a $20 chance and stablemate of Seaside Magic, improved from ninth at the bell to finish third for reinsman Ryan Warwick, with the $3.10 favourite Belly Up enjoying no luck in finishing fast from ninth on the home turn to be a close-up sixth, out very wide.
Belly Up began from the No. 3 barrier and was trapped three wide for the first 550m before Deni Roberts had no option but to restrain the gelding back to the rear.
Seaside Magic, who was purchased by De Campo for $55,000 at the 2023 Perth APG yearling sale, is by American sire Downbytheseaside and is the second foal out of Jeremes Jet mare Playin With Magic, who raced 16 times for one win (at Bunbury in May 2015), four placings and $21,130 in prizemoney.
Playin With Magic is out of Cerebrano, the dam of ten winners, notably Innocent Eyes, who earned $421,875 from 18 wins and 17 placings from 62 starts. Her major success was in the Chariots Of Fire at Harold Park in January 2006.
“Seaside Magic is a nice-looking horse, one of the smaller ones by Downbytheseaside that I’ve seen,” said De Campo. “He is nice and compact.”
Seaside Magic will be aimed at feature events for three-year-olds later this year --- the $100,000 Westbred Classic on September 5, the $50,000 Western Gateway on October 17 and the $200,000 WA Derby on October 31.
Chase Me needs to straighten up
Exciting New Zealand-bred three-year-old Chase Me will need to race more generously around the 804m Gloucester Park circuit before developing into a serious contender for the $200,000 group 1 WA Derby on October 31.
That’s the verdict of the gelding’s reinsman Gary Hall jnr, who drove him to a comparatively easy victory at his Australian debut when he led all the way in the $23,000 Holey Moley Where Is Rolly Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Chase Me’s six New Zealand appearances have all been at Auckland’s Alexandra Park where the races are run in a clockwise direction --- the opposite way races are run at Gloucester Park.
“We know he’s good, but we have a lot of work to do to try to straighten him out and be more adaptable to our style of racing,” said Hall.
“It’s a bit like one of those trolleys no one wants to use at the supermarket, one with a bunged wheel. He is definitely a work in progress, but there is plenty to work with.
“He is actually a very good pacer but has trouble on the bends where he loses all his momentum. However, he is good in the straights. Now we’ve got to try to sort it all out. He has everything on at the moment, including a pole and a Murphy Blind on the nearside to try to straighten him up.
“He is not a silly horse, so he might come good. He’s not the horse we need him to be, going around the way he did tonight. Hopefully, he learns, or something clicks with him.”
Chase Me was the $1.10 favourite from the No. 1 barrier on Friday night when he was able to dawdle through the lead time in a very slow 39.3sec. and the opening 400m section in 31.4sec. before increasing the tempo with final quarters of 29.4sec., 27.9sec. and 28.3ec. He rated 1.58.1.
Chase Me, who is prepared by champion trainer Gary Hall snr, is still quite inexperienced, having had seven starts for four wins, three placings and stakes of $78,870.
He is by Downbytheseaside and is out of the Falcon Seelster mare Delicata, who raced 22 times for two wins, four placings and $10,856. Delicata’s first foal Chase Auckland amassed $809,156 from 14 wins and nine placings from 35 starts.
While Delicata failed to flatter on the racetrack, her younger half-brother Hug The Wind (by Bettors Delight) earned $432,556 from ten wins, 13 seconds and eight thirds from 47 starts.
Bettors Pride is on the march
Inexperienced four-year-old Bettors Pride enhanced his prospects of winning the $200,000 Golden Nugget on November 7 when he gave star reinsman Shannon Suvaljko an armchair drive in the $25,000 Remembering Josh Dunn Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Bettors Pride’s two length victory over Star Casino gave Suvaljko his third win from the opening three events on the ten-event program, following his successes with En Pariant Sur and Chilli Punter.
Bettors Pride, the $2.30 favourite, dashed straight to the front from the No. 6 barrier and he was not extended in setting a solid pace before sprinting over the final 400m sections in 28.7sec. and 27.7sec. to record a 1.56.7 rate, with Suvaljko not bothering to release the ear plugs.
Bettors Pride, trained by Mike Reed, is a highly talented and versatile pacer who has raced only eleven times for six wins, one second placings and earning $65,354 in stakes.
Reed is planning to give Bettors Pride a spell in the near future before bringing him back into work to have him fit and ready for the $125,000 Four-Year-Old Classic over 2130m on October 24, with the Golden Nugget to follow a fortnight later.
Star Casino maintained his splendid form for trainer Ray Williams and reinsman Aldo Cortopassi when he began from out wide at barrier eight and fought on determinedly after racing wide early and then without cover in the breeze.
Golden Lode, who began from the No. 9 barrier, also impressed when he was ninth at the bell and flew home out wide on the track to finish an eye-catching third.
Majestic Ga Ga is improving
Promising young trotter Majestic Ga Ga’s manners are improving and she gave a faultless exhibition when she set the pace and coasted to an effortless victory in the 2503m Team Bond Trot at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
This was a notable success for Majestic Ga Ga --- scoring her first win at her eighth attempt in a standing-start event. For much of her career she has ruined her chances by beginning badly and breaking in running.
“Tonight, she trotted nicely,” said Emily Suvaljko after driving Majestic Ga Ga, the $1.70 favourite, to an all-the-way win by almost four lengths from $7.50 chance Patched, who started from the back mark of 80m (virtually 70m because there were no runners off the front line).
Four-year-old Majestic Ga Ga, who began off the 10m line (with no runners off the front), won at six of her 29 Victorian appearances, and this was her sixth start for trainer Michael Young --- for two wins and two thirds. The mare now has earned $58,162 from eight wins and ten placings from 35 starts.
“Majestic Ga Ga is still on quite a low mark and should win many more races,” said Suvaljko, who is confident that she will prove very hard to beat when she begins from the 20m mark in a 2631m trot at Pinjarra on Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Suvaljko continued in fine form on the weekend. She was successful with Douseeme ($2.20) at Bunbury on Saturday night and then travelled to Kellerberrin on Sunday and landed a double, scoring with Alexandra Thegreat ($1.50) and By Royal Command ($4.40).
Longreach Bay breaks through
Remarkably, noted speedster Longreach Bay went into Friday night’s Team Bond Build A Hanger Pace over 1730m with a surprising record of failing to finish in the top four at his previous ten attempts over this sprint trip at Gloucester Park.
But up-and-coming young reinsman Joey Suvaljko put the record straight by driving the Peter King-trained eight-year-old to a dashing all-the-way victory as a $11.60 chance.
Longreach Bay gave his rivals little chance by setting a fast pace all the way and he won by 5m from the $2.80 favourite Prince Of Pleasure, who began out wide at barrier seven and raced in seven position on the pegs before Gary Hall eased him out at the bell to start a spirited three-wide burst.
“We found the top easily,” said Suvaljko. “He usually races on the bit, but tonight he was more relaxed, and I pulled the plugs on the home turn.”
Longreach Bay, a gelding by Renaissance Man, is enjoying a wonderful stretch of form, winning at eight of his past 13 starts, and he now boasts a splendid record of 82 starts for 20 wins, eight placings and stakes of $222,633.
No trouble for Sugar Delight
A fast start from out wide at barrier seven paved the way for Sugar Delight’s easy all-the-way win in the $21,000 Gee Heza Sport Team Bond Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Bred and owned by the Howlett family and prepared by Busselton trainer Barry Howlett, Sugar Delight was the $2.30 favourite who gave her supporters little cause for concern as she dictated terms in front and sprinted over the final 400m sections in 28.8sec. and 28.4sec. to beat $8 chance Malakie by a length at a 1.57.4 rate.
Four-year-old Sugar Delight is lightly raced, with her 15 starts producing four wins, seven placings and stakes of $49,687. She is by champion sire Bettors Delight and is the second foal out of Art Major mare Savannah Maguire, who raced eleven times for five placings and $17,202 in prizemoney.
The New Zealand-bred Savannah Maguire’s final start was her only appearance in WA when she finished second to Alfs Odyssey at Bunbury on February 11, 2017. Her first foal Sugarloaf raced six times on WA country tracks in 2022 and 2023 for four wins, two at Albany and one each at Bunbury and Pinjarra, as well as two second placings at Pinjarra.
WA Pacing Cup beckons Gee Heza Sport
New Zealand-bred seven-year-old Gee Heza Sport is sure to develop into a strong contender in the $450,000 WA Pacing Cup on December 12.
He continued his outstanding form for leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond when Deni Roberts drove him to an easy victory in the $27,000 Smartee Spoilt The Party Pace over 2536m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
This improved his WA record to ten starts for six wins and three placings, and he now boasts an impressive record of $479,480 in earnings from 13 wins and 12 placings from 56 starts.
Earlier this year Gee Heza Sport showed his class by finishing second to Mister Smartee in the Nullarbor slot race and third to Mister Smartee in the Fremantle Cup. His most notable New Zealand success was in a group 3 Free-For-All over 2600m Addington in August 2022 when trained and driven by Colin DeFilippi.
Gee Heza Sport was the $1.04 favourite from barrier No. 7 on Friday night when he settled down in last place in the field of seven before Roberts sent him forward after 700m with a sparkling burst of speed that saw him take the lead 150m later.
He was not extended before sprinting home over the final 400m in 27.5sec. to win by two and a half lengths from $26 chance Arma Xfactor, who impressed at his second appearance after a five-month absence when he raced wide early and then in the breeze.
Gear changes aid En Pariant Sur
Three months ago, Serpentine trainer Matt Scott spent $6000 to purchase New South Wales pacer En Pariant Sur for stable clients Todd Hughes and his wife Kara and Scott Nelson and his wife Sandy.
And it is proving a wise decision, with the six-year-old En Pariant Sur earning $16,383 from his first three starts in WA.
His excellent frontrunning effort to win the $21,000 Team Bond GP Free Entry Pace over 1730m at Gloucester Park on Friday night followed his first-up second to Fireplay and his sound fourth to Bonstar.
En Pariant Sur was the $3.10 favourite from barrier four, and Shannon Suvaljko stole a march on his rivals by dashing the gelding straight to the front, and an opening 400m section in 28.7sec. took the sting out of his rivals. He then covered the following quarters in 29.5sec., 29.3sec. and 30sec. and won by more than a length from $8 chance Get Ya Bets On, who fought on gamely after racing in the breeze. The winner rated 1.56.3.
Changes of gear played a major part in En Pariant Sur’s victory. The gelding proved quite a handful for reinsman Gary Hall jnr when he ruined his chances by hanging down badly and finished fourth behind Bonstar three nights before Friday’s event.
“Junior (Hall) had a nightmare drive behind him on Tuesday,” said Scott. “So, after a discussion with Shannon we decided to remove the Dolly Vardon blinkers and the nearside lugging pole and replace them with Block blinkers and a nearside rein pole (a piece of poly pipe with a burr around it). They did the trick, and the horse also got out of the gate much better.
“He is no superstar, but there are more wins in store for him. His owners have been great supporters of mine and they have been racing horses with me, on and off, for about 18 years. They were part-owners of Zed, who was driven by Courtney Burch when he won the $25,000 Rising Stars Invitation final at Gloucester Parkin March 2010.”
En Pariant Sur has now raced 34 times for five wins, six placings and $45,576. He is by American sire Betting Line and is the fourth foal out of unraced Grinfromeartoear mare Leslie Jay, who also produced Castalong Shadow (94 starts for 18 wins, 17 placings and $180,907) and Turquoise Stride (103 starts for 11 wins, 20 placings and $76,837).
Poppyonthebeach proves a handful
Smart filly Poppyonthebeach gave champion reinsman Gary Hall jnr a torrid time in the sulky before scrambling to a nose victory over Wicked Lover in the $21,000 The Minstrel Team Bond Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Poppyonthebeach, trained by Justin Prentice, was the $4.70 second fancy, with Delulu dominating the betting as the $1.85 favourite.
There was plenty of action early, with Delulu dashing forward from out wide at barrier eight to burst past Spirited Whitby ($8.50) and go to the front after 500m, with Hall settling Poppyonthebeach in sixth position.
About 60m after getting to the front Delulu broke into a fierce gallop, veered out and dropped back towards the rear, with Spirited Whitby regaining the lead, and with Wicked Lover ($6.50) still in the breeze.
The tempo of the race had been quite slow, with an ambling lead time of 37.8sec. followed by slow quarters of 32.1sec. and 31.7sec.
Hall made a fast move with Popponthebeach 600m from home but his bid for the lead was thwarted by Wicked Lover, who booted through on the one-wide line to the inside to keep her rival on her outside, out three wide.
Eventually Kyle Symington sent Wicked Lover to the front 350m from home, with Poppyonthebeach pouring on the pressure. The two fillies were then locked together in a supreme tussle before Poppyontheeach gained the verdict by a nose to win at a 2.0.3 rate after a final 400m of 28.3sec.
“Popponthebeach was driving good in the field but when I took off, she wanted to run in,” said Hall. “In the home straight all she wanted to do was to bore down and I had to keep pulling her off from Wicked Lover.”
Poppyonthebeach is by Downbytheseaside and is the first foal out of the Art Major mare Naamark, who won once (at Bendigo in May 2020) from 24 starts. She now has raced seven times for three wins, two placings and $26,855.
Chilli Punter is a marvel
Four-year-old mare Chilli Punter survived a devastating stable fire in Victoria three years ago which claimed the lives of eleven pacers, and she has proved to be an equine marvel, having recovered from severe smoke inhalation and the trauma of the raging blaze to be a successful performer on the track.
Oakford trainer Jemma Hayman purchased Chilli Punter for $22,000 at the Melbourne APG yearling sale early in 2022 on behalf of herself and prominent WA owners Albert and Julie Walmsley, as well as outlaying $7000 for a Betting Line colt at the sale.
She then sent both yearlings to be broken in and educated by experienced trainer and driver Rita Burnett at the family property in Forbes. Both pacers were caught up in the catastrophic stable blaze in July 2022. The colt was one of the eleven pacers to perish.
“Fortunately, Chilli Punter was one of the first horses to get out of the stable because she was near the end,” said Hayman. “But that night the vets wanted to put Chilli Punter down because she had suffered such severe smoke inhalation, had blood pouring from both nostrils and had a heart rate of 120.
“I spoke with Albert, and we agreed to give her a chance, so we committed $3000 to get her assessed. All her airwaves were torched from the heat, and she was hospitalised for a week and then made a steady recovery with expert care and treatment.
“We then got her home here in WA and though there was no guarantee that she would be able to race we were able to prepare her, and she won at her first two starts as a two-year-old at Pinjarra and Gloucester Park in June 2023.”
Both those wins were by a margin of a half-head, and at Gloucester Park on Friday night she notched her first metro-class victory when Shannon Suvaljko drove her to a memorable victory in the $21,000 Galactic Star In Retirement Pace over 2130m.
This took her record to 38 starts for nine wins, 15 placings and stakes of $96,640.
“She has been through wars and has come through as the most lovely racehorse,” said Hayman. “Rita looked after her wonderfully well.
“Tonight, I wasn’t very confident with Chilli Punter starting out wide at barrier eight. She loves racing on the rails. And that’s where Shannon placed her, and it was one of those drives from Shannon, making the right move at the right time.”
Chilli Punter, a $16.10 chance, was eighth at the bell, on the pegs before Suvaljko eased her off the inside with 600m to travel. She moved to sixth at the 250m mark before going four wide on the home turn and finishing fast to get up and win by a half neck from $20 chance Swagger Man, who thundered home from last at the bell.
Chilli Punter is by American sire Betting Line and is the second foal out of Rocknroll Hanover mare Habanero, who raced 23 times for six wins, five placings and $19,130. Habanero is a half-sister to Flaming Flutter, a top-flight pacer who raced 152 times for 29 wins, 51 placings and $879,694.
Flaming Flutter contested two Interdominion Championship series in Western Australia, finishing third behind Lennytheshark in the final in December 2013. He celebrated his eighth and final appearance in WA by winning the Ray Duffy Memorial at Gloucester Park in January 2017 when he defeated Lisharry.
