Smart New Zealand-bred pacer Hale Saint Louie has a losing sequence of 12 but he looks capable of ending a 15-month drought by winning the $25,000 HTA Reaching For The Top Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
He will be making his second appearance after a spell when he begins from the coveted No. 1 barrier and trainer-reinsman Dylan Egerton-Green will be anxious to set the pace.
The Sweet Lou gelding was far from disgraced when he resumed racing last Friday night. He was restrained from out wide at barrier eight before starting a three-wide move 900m from home. He was still last at the 600m when he gained a trail behind Del Bocavista Bay and he fought on gamely, out four wide, to finish a close-up sixth behind Del Bocavista Bay, whop sprinted over the final quarters in 28.3sec. and 29.6sec.
“He went pretty good,” said Egerton-Green. “He got too far back and when I attempted to put him in the race, he didn’t handle the (heavy) track. Barrier one this week is a good starting point. He is versatile and has won when leading and when sitting.”
Four of his eight wins from 28 starts have been when he has led all the way. Many of his main rivals have drawn out wide, with last Friday night’s all-the-way winner Princess Katie at barrier six, and recent winners Petes Honour (seven) and Insta Gator (nine) needing to overcome these awkward barriers.
“Princess Katie should go well,” said her driver Emily Suvaljko. “She will take great improvement from her first-up run. The hood will be going back on this week because she was a bit lazy without last week.”
Insta Gator, to be driven by Kyle Symington for trainer Jocelyn Young, will have many admirers despite starting from the outside barrier. He was most impressive, first-up last Friday week when he began from barrier six, raced wide early and then in the breeze after 550m before getting to the front 220m from home and winning narrowly from the fast-finishing No Noney over 2536m.
Adding considerable interest will be the return to racing of the 2023 Pearl Classic winner Menemsha, who will making his first appearance for ten weeks. “I’m happy with him,” declared trainer-reinsman Aiden De Campo.
Star driver Deni Roberts is looking forward to driving Golden Lode, whose clash with the brilliant Mighty Ronaldo will be one of the highlights of the ten-event program.
Golden Lode, trained by Greg and Skye Bond, will begin from out wide at barrier eight in the $31,000 Hoist Solutions Pace over 2130m. Golden Lode was most impressive last Friday night when he started from the No. 8 barrier, raced three wide early and then in the breeze before fighting on grandly to finish third behind Magnificent Storm and Lusaka over 2130m.
That followed his splendid win over Gully Gum a fortnight earlier after enduring a tough run.
“For Golden Lode to sit outside Magnificent Storm and finish third to him was a massive performance,” said Roberts. “Friday night’s Free-For-All is not as strong as other recent Free-For-Alls, but Golden Lode has a tough gate.
“He has been making his own luck, and he has options and could be a winning chance if there is some speed on.”
Golden Lode faces a tough assignment against outstanding seven-year-old Mighty Ronaldo, who revealed sparkling gate speed from barrier eight to burst to an early lead, set a fast pace and win a 1730m Free-For-All from Magnificent Storm, rating 1.52.6, following 400m sections of 29.5sec., 28.5sec., 27.7sec. and 27.8sec.
