Hall chooses Hez The Boss
Champion reinsman Gary Hall Jnr faced a tough decision when determining his drive in the $125,000 APG Sales Classic final for two-year-old colts and geldings at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“It was a hard choice, and I’ve settled on Hez the Boss ahead of Ideal Whisper,” said Hall, who had driven both the geldings to impressive victories in qualifying heats on Tuesday of last week.
Hez The Boss, trained by Colin Brown, has drawn awkwardly out wide at barrier No. 8 in the 1730m classic, whereas the Justin Prentice-trained Ideal Whisper will begin from the favourable No. 2 barrier.
“I’ll be driving Hez The Boss because he is the better horse than Ideal Whisper at this stage,” said Hall. “He has everything, great speed and is pretty tough as well.
“Ideal Whisper went super when he won his heat. He went better than I expected and he improved a lot on his trial at Pinjarra (when he won easily at a 2.1.8 rate over 1684m).”
Prentice has engaged Deni Roberts to handle Ideal Whisper, who rated 1.56.7 in winning his qualifying heat by just over a length from Russian Sniper. He raced outside the pacemaker Spychief before surging to the front 520m from home. The final 400m sections were run in slick time, 28.7sec. and 28.4sec. It was a splendid debut.
Hez The Boss has an edge in experience, having raced three times for a debut nose second to Seaside Serenade over 1684m at Pinjarra, followed by a fast-finishing easy victory over the same distance at Pinjarra and his impressive heat win when he raced without cover early and then in the one-out, one-back position before starting a three-wide move with 250m to travel and then taking the lead 120m later and winning by 10m from Jetpack, rating 1.56.3, with final quarters of 28.5sec. and 28.3sec.
Hez The Boss is by Poster Boy and is the seventh foal out of New Zealand mare Falcons Gem, who produced Menemsha, who has earned $357,859 from eight wins and 18 placings from 45 starts.
Menemsha won the Group 1 Westbred Classic for two-year-old colts and geldings in September 2023, three weeks after winning the Pearl Classic. He then finished second to Christopher Dance in the WA Derby in November 2024 and won the Group 3 August Cup last year, beating Rolling Fire.
Veteran trainer Mike Reed will be looking for a strong showing from Terbium, who will be driven by Shannon Suvaljko in Friday night’s classic, in which he is handily drawn at barrier three.
Terbium revealed good gate speed from barrier four to set the pace and romp to a five-length victory over Beau Para in a qualifying heat. He rated 1.56.9 after final quarters of 29sec. and 29.2sec.
Baskerville trainer Ryan Bell has two runners in Friday night’s event, with Liam Elliott taking the drive behind Jetpack, and Jack Callaghan engaged for Spychief.
Jetpack did a good job to finish second to Hez The Boss in a heat after working hard in the breeze. He faces a stern test from the outside barrier (No. 9) on the front line, while Spychief is the solitary runner on the back line. Spychief set the pace in his heat in which he wilted to finish third behind Ideal Whisper and Russian Sniper.
“Jetpack and Spychief will be relying on a bit of luck,” said Bell. “If the pace is on, they will be sneaky place chances. Jetpack’s two runs have been good, and he looks the better chance of the two.”
Seaside Serenade set for four in a row
Seaside Serenade is unbeaten at her three starts, and she looks set to make it four wins in a row when she begins from the ideal barrier at No. 2 in the $125,000 APG Sales Classic for two-year-old fillies over 1730m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“She is a nice filly, and hopefully she will lead,” said her trainer Ryan Bell. “Her work during the week has been as good as it has been throughout her preparation. She looks the class and has the best draw.”
Seaside Serenade was not extended in scoring an effortless victory in a qualifying heat on Tuesday of last week when she led from the No. 1 barrier and beat Pocket Of Dreams by more than four lengths, rating 1.55.8 over 1730m. That followed Pinjarra wins over 1684m at her first two race starts.
The other heat winner All Out Of Aces, trained and driven by Dylan Egerton-Green, recorded a considerably slower rate of 1.59 when she fought tenaciously to defeat Seaspirit by a half-length after racing wide early and then in the breeze.
Egerton-Green has decided to drive stablemate Arvannas Wish, the solitary runner on the back line in the field of ten. He has engaged Trent Wheeler to handle All Out Of Aces, who will begin from the No. 3 barrier.
Arvannas Wish made a sound debut when a well-beaten third behind Seaside Serenade in a qualifying heat in which she had no luck.
She was restrained at the start from barrier three and raced in fifth position, four back on the pegs, and then was checked just before entering the home straight to receive the bell when Sweet Grins broke into a gallop immediately in front of her.
Avannas Wish was fifth on the home turn and she sprinted strongly to get up into third place.
Vinita Rose on target for the Lombardo
New Zealand-bred six-year-old Vinita Rose will be set for the $50,000 Lombardo event for mares on Friday of next week if she wins or is placed in the APG Perth Yearling Sale Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“I think she has a really good chance this week,” declared her trainer-reinsman Aldo Cortopassi. “She has good gate speed and will run the gate. You saw last week how fast she can come off the arm.”
Vinita Rose impressed last Friday night when she sped straight to the front from barrier five and set a brisk pace, covering the final three quarters in 28.6sec., 28.2sec. and 29.4sec. before finishing a fighting half-length second to powerful four-year-old gelding Spitfire, who rated 1.56 over the 2130m journey.
This week Vinita Rose is ideally drawn at barrier two, with Cortopassi hoping that her early speed will enable her to win the start.
“If she goes well again this week, we can look at the Lombardo the following week,” said Cortopassi. “It’s a preferential-draw race, and with a national rating of only 75 Vinita Rose should draw inside all the good mares.
“I have always rated Vinita Rose, but she has taken a bit of time for the penny to drop. I have had her for quite a while, and after she arrived from New Zealand, she won a race early (at Gloucester Park) and was placed twice at both Pinjarra and Bunbury at her first five starts in WA in August and September 2024.
“I then spelled her, but when I brought her back, I lost her when she got really sick with a bacterial infection. So, I put her in the paddock for four months, and since she’s been back, she has been a different horse.”
Cortopassi prepares three pacers at his Boyanup training establishment as well as enjoying his role as WA’s driving coach.
“I go to most of the country meetings to keep an eye on all the young drivers,” he said. “I have 19 kids on the books and have three new ones just signed on. We have some talented young drivers coming through, and exciting times are ahead.”
Vinita Rose will need to be at her best on Friday night when she clashes with several smart pacers, including Cee Dee Three (barrier one), Sugar Shake (three), Reset The Bar (five), as well as Maddy Rocks (nine), Dourado (inside of the back line) and other back-line runners Chasing Rex and Major Thinker.
Cee Dee Three, a lightly-raced seven-year-old to be driven by Kyle Harper for trainer Shane Tognolini, has good gate speed and he impressed at his first appearance for six months when he ran home strongly from last in the field of twelve at the bell to finish fourth behind Spitfire last Friday night.
Sugar Shake, a seven-year-old to be driven by Jocelyn Young for trainer Cameron Ross, has won at six of his 12 starts and has excellent prospects from the No. 3 barrier at his first outing for 15 months.
Sugar Shake enjoyed a good trip in the one-out and one-back position before finishing strongly to win a 2185m trial at Pinjarra three Wednesdays ago. “He trialled okay, but it was not against anything of his class,” said Young. “So, it is hard to get a gauge on that trial.”
Trainer-reinsman Gary Hall Jnr is looking for a strong performance from Reset The Bar, who had a tough run in the breeze when narrowly beaten by Kurios Boy last Friday night. “He needed the first-up run, and he should be improved by that effort,” said Hall. “He should be thereabouts again.”
Hall also has Chasing Rex (Stuart McDonald) engaged, and he said that the five-year-old was capable of a bold showing, particularly if the race was run at a fast tempo.
The New Zealand-bred Major Thinker, trained and driven by Lindsay Harper, will begin from barrier two on the back line at his first appearance since finishing fifth in a race at Bendigo in March 2024.
“He is a nice horse who has spent two years away from the track, so obviously he will need the run,” said Harper. “He ran a pretty good trial at Byford a couple of weeks ago when I didn’t knock him around and he did it within himself.”
Wishing Belle faces a first-up test
Brilliant three-year-old filly Wising Belle will be aiming to extend her winning sequence to eight when she resumes after an absence of just under six months in the 2130m APG The Industry Owned Sales Company Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Trained and driven by Aiden De Campo, Wishing Belle has amassed $257,511 in stakes from eight wins and a second placing from nine starts.
Under the conditions of the race Wishing Belle will start from the outside barrier in the field of eight, and her sheer brilliance and versatility should enable to maintain her winning ways. However, she is unlikely to have everything going her way, particularly against talented rivals Miss Leopatra (barrier one) and Sovereign Jewel (four).
De Campo is confident of success, saying: “I’m really happy with Wishing Belle; her work has been very good.”
However, De Campo is sure not to take Miss Leopatra and Sovereign Jewel lightly, with Miss Leopatra, to be driven by Jocelyn Young for trainer Cameron Ross, most impressive in notching her first victory at her seventh start when she began speedily from the No. 2 barrier and set the pace to beat Bet Im Hot at a 1.54.5 rate over 1730m last Friday night at her second outing after a spell.
“This is a class rise for Miss Leopatra,” said Young. “A lot of her rivals have had a bit more experience, but she has drawn the pole and if she can hold up, she should be alright.”
Sovereign Jewel, trained and driven by Dylan Egerton-Green, produced an excellent effort at her first run for six months when she led from barrier five and won easily from Slay Queen and Chefs Kiss at a 1.55.6 rate over 1609m at Bunbury on February 10.
Several of the State’s best mares will clash in the $25,000 APGgold.com.au Pace over 2130m, with Banjup trainer Michael Young producing star mares Penny Black (barrier six) and Heavenly Gipsy (two) for their first-up runs.
Their clash with Little Darling (outside barrier at No. 8), Wonderful To Fly (three), Alta Allure (seven), Water Lou (five) and Madam Publisher (four) should result in considerable action.
Heavenly Gipsy, who has a losing sequence of seven, will be driven by Gary Hall Jnr, who said that he would be anxious to take advantage of the draw by setting the pace.
Trainer Ryan Bell said that he was looking forward for a strong showing from Franco Encore, who will begin from the No. 4 barrier in the 1730m APG Industry Owned, Not For Profit Pace.
“I would like Franco Encore to be able to lead,” said Bell. “He is very quick and he gets his chance in this grade to show that he can be a player in the right race.”
