Star driver Emily Suvaljko has a high opinion of the redoubtable mare Penny Black, but she has turned her back on the big, powerful black pacer and has opted to drive stablemate Heavenly Gipsy in the $100,000 group 2 Barbagallo Lamborghini Norms Daughter Classic over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Leading trainer Michael Young has Penny Black and Heavenly Gipsy in top form, and Suvaljko made her decision when Heavenly Black drew the favourable No. 2 barrier, with Penny Black, to be driven for the first time by Stuart McDonald, drawing barrier six.
Suvaljko has handled Heavenly Gipsy four times for two wins, a second placing and an unplaced effort, while she has driven Penny Black seven times for three wins, three seconds and one third.
“Penny Black is a very good horse who has sat outside of Heavenly Gipsy and beaten her (in the group 3 Schrader Pace two starts ago), but Heavenly Gipsy is going better now,” said Suvaljko. “She now has three runs under her belt, and during her previous preparation she beat Magnificent Storm when she led.
“She is a very good frontrunner, and I will be pushing the button at the start, and we will be trying to lead, and if she gets to the front, she will be holding the lead. Her work yesterday (Tuesday) was as good as it was when she beat Magnificent Storm.”
McDonald is looking forward to handling Penny Black, a brilliant pacer who has raced 34 times for 15 wins, eight seconds and three thirds for $298,135 in prizemoney.
“It’s always nice to be driving good horses,” said a buoyant McDonald. “I’m not sure what we will do. Penny Black is very tough and versatile, and she will get her chance by being put into the race at some stage and she should be right in it at the finish, regardless.”
Heavenly Gipsy and Penny Black are sure to receive considerable opposition from the polemarker Sweet Vivienne, Aardiebytheseaside (barrier three) and Little Darling (barrier four).
“I’m not sure where we will lob from barrier three,” said Aardiebytheseaside’s driver Deni Roberts. “But I consider she is good enough to get over the bad draw.”
Sweet Vivienne, trained and driven by Chris Voak, has excellent gate speed and has performed meritoriously in winning five races this season.
Little Darling, trained by Cameron Ross and to be driven by Jocelyn Young, is getting close to another win. She impressed in a Norms Daughter preview last Friday night when she was eighth at the bell before running home strongly to finish third behind Wonderful To Fly and Princess Katie.
Wonderful To Fly, trained and driven by Shane Young, was not extended in setting the pace from barrier one last Friday night, but her winning prospects deteriorated when she drew the outside barrier (No. 9) on the front line this week.
However, Young insisted that Wonderful To Fly is not purely a frontrunner, but is a very capable sit-sprinter, particularly when a race is run uptempo.
