Franco Motu is a stand specialist
Champion reinsman Gary Hall Jnr will be bidding to win the Garrard’s Horse And Hound Easter Cup for a record seventh time when he drives the inexperienced five-year-old Franco Motu in the testing 2503m event at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Franco Motu has won at eight of his twelve starts --- and it is significant that he has not been beaten at his five appearances in standing-start events --- by four lengths at Addington as a three-year-old and by two lengths at Timaru as a four-year-old, as well as winning at his three runs in stands in WA --- by two lengths after starting off the 30m mark and by one and a half lengths and five lengths from 40m.
His latest success was last Friday night when he began from 40m and won by just over five lengths from My Silver Spoon when the final three 400m sections (off the front) were run in 28.7sec., 28.8sec. and 28.8sec.
However, Hall is cautious when assessing Franco Motu’s winning prospects of Friday night, saying: “The field is better than the field he was in when he won last week. Franco Motu will want to be on his best behaviour.
“He got away pretty good last week, and he had things going all his way (when he enjoyed an ideal passage in the one-out and one-back position). It’s hard to see him getting that run again. However, he should be hard to hold out. I’d like to drive him sit-kick.”
Franco Motu, who is trained by Gary Hall Snr, has been confirmed as a runner in the $1,250,000 TABtouch Nullarbor slot race next Friday week when that mobile event will be run over 2536m.
Hall Snr has won the Easter Cup as a trainer with The Falcon Strike (2003), Patches (2006), Rebel Scooter (2013) and Skylou (2024), while Hall jnr has won the Cup with The Falcon Strike, Patches, Rebel Scooter, Uppy Son (2012), Znana (2016) and Skylou.
The only other reinsman to have won the Easter Cup six times is evergreen champion Chris Lewis, and it is interesting that one of his winners, frontmarker OK Windermere, set the pace and dead-heated for first with the 30m backmarker Patches, who was driven by Hall Jnr for his father.
Looming as one of the main dangers to Franco Motu is four-year-old Last Hard Copy, who will begin from the 20m mark for leading trainer-reinsman Aiden De Campo, who won the Easter Cup last year with four-year-old Ideal Muscle, who began from the front line and dashed to the lead after 600m on his way to winning by a half-length from Spyglass, the sole 40m backmarker who surged home from last in the middle stages.
Last Hard Copy made a splendid debut in a standing-start event when he began smoothly from 20m and impressed in running home powerfully from eighth with a lap to travel to finish a head second to Petes Honour over 2503m last Friday week.
“That was a really good first-up run,” said De Campo. “He probably needed the run, and hopefully he improves on that effort. He is only a little horse, and he will need things to go his way.”
The New Zealand-bred Spyglass, trained and driven by Lindsay Harper, will begin from 30m on Friday night and deserves serious consideration. His only other start in a stand apart from his second in last year’s Easter Cup was when he began from 60m in a field of seven at Gloucester Park on February 4 last year and won by a head from Star Casino. His past 14 appearances have been in mobiles, including an all-the-way victory over 2130m two starts ago.
Ace reinsman Chris Voak trains three runners in Friday night’s Cup --- My Silver Spoon (10m), Our Vinnie (10m) and Maximum Rock (30m). “I will drive My Silver Spoon, who should be a good place chance,” said Voak, who won the 2014 Easter Cup with the Ross Olivieri-trained metropolitan-maiden eight-year-old Finbar Abbey.
Kyle Harper will drive Our Vinnie, and Shannon Suvaljko has been engaged to handle Maximum Rock.
Apart from Last Hard Copy, the only other four-year-old in the race will be Chase Me, who will begin from the 30m mark and will be driven by Stuart McDonald for Hall snr.
The Michael Young-trained Eclipse Line is a proven standing-start performer, and Emily Suvaljko is planning to make a concerted bid for the early lead after starting from the inside of the 10-metre line.
“I think that the front-line runners will hand up, so we have just got to try to step quicker than Chris Voak’s runners in a bid to get to the front,” said Suvaljko.
70 metres a “fair handicap”
Outstanding mare Penny Black faces one of the toughest assignments in her illustrious career when she begins off the back mark of 70 metres in the $35,000 Garrard’s Horse And Hound Race For Roses over 2503m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The New Zealand-bred six-year-old trained by Michael Young, has won at 18 of her 44 starts, earning $440,312, and she will be attempting to win this event for the second time, after beginning from the back mark of 30m last year.
That remains as her only appearance in a stand when she broke into a gallop soon after the start and lost two lengths before Gary Hall Jnr sent her forward from the rear with 650m to travel. She burst to the front 400m later and won comfortably by 4m from Chilli Punter.
Emily Suvaljko, who has driven Penny Black 17 times for six wins, is not fazed at the prospect of the mare overcoming the distant back mark and is confident of success, saying: “Hopefully, I can step her away and go on for a back-to-back win.
“Seventy metres is probably a fair handicap, and she will have a fair bit of time to work into the race. She didn’t like the wet track last Friday night (when she raced in the breeze and wilted to finish third behind the pacemaker Delightful Peg). I probably went a bit too slow.”
Last-start winner Vinita Rose will have plenty of admirers. The tough New Zealand-bred six-year-old is trained and driven by Aldo Cortopassi, and is in top form.
Vinita Rose began out wide at barrier seven in a 2130m mobile event last Friday night when she forged forward early to get to the front after 450m and go on and win by a length from Sugar Shake. That followed placings behind Como El Viento and Delightful Peg at her two previous outings.
Vinita Rose will start from the 40m mark and Cortopassi is certain to drive aggressively in an attempt to make life tough for Penny Black.
Busy time for Roberts
Star driver Deni Roberts faces a busy time at Gloucester Park’s twilight meeting on Friday with drives in six events on the eight-race program.
As usual, she will have a strong following of supporters, and she has declared the best prospect as three-year-old gelding In Rare Air in the opening event, the 2130m Garrard’s Horse And Hound @ Gloucester Park Pace.
In Rare Air, trained by Greg and Skye Bond, has won at three of his nine starts and will begin from barrier four, with smart fillies Trixie Dora, Slay Queen and Im Category Five drawn inside of him. He gave a strong frontrunning display at his second appearance after a spell when he sprinted over the final quarters in 28.1sec. and 27.8sec. to win from Bettor Behave and Cease To React over 2100m at Bunbury last Saturday.
“He has really good gate speed and I will be hoping to lead,” said Roberts. The Bond stable also will be represented by Slay Queen, to be driven by Kyle Symington from barrier two, and The Final Offer, to be driven by Tom Nally from the No. 5 barrier.
Banjup trainer Michael Young also has three runners --- polemarker Trixie Dora (Emily Suvaljko), Butter Me Up (Kylah Madden; barrier seven) and Cease To React (Gary Hall Jnr; barrier nine).
Suvaljko is upbeat about the prospects of Trixie Dora, a winner at two of her twelve starts who was unlucky last Friday night when she was checked and broke soon after the start and settled down in tenth position before running home solidly to finish fourth behind Miss Leopatra, Wishing Belle and Sovereign Jewel over 1730m when the final 800m was covered in 56.6sec.
“Trixie Dora’s past two runs have been good, and she has been working well,” said Suvaljko. “She has gate speed and used to be a good frontrunner who led when second to El Mystro (at Pinjarra last June). She can run a pair of twenty-sevens.
“She is capable of winning, and so too is Cease To React (who has shown promise in winning four races and being placed nine times from 18 starts).”
The Colin Brown-trained Im Category Five, to be driven by Maddison Brown from barrier three, cannot be underestimated despite her first run as a three-year-old when she began out wide at barrier eight and raced at the rear before finishing ninth, ten lengths behind the winner Miss Leopatra last Friday night. Brown has a smart second-strong runner in My Machane, the sole runner on the back line, who had a hard run, first-up in the breeze, when a close fourth behind Typhoon Treasure two Tuesdays ago.
Serpentine trainer Micheal Ferguson will be looking for another spirited performance from Maternal Dreams, who will be driven by Stuart McDonald from the No. 5 barrier. Maternal Dreams has impressed at his four appearances in his current campaign which have resulted in two wins and two placings.
Other drives for Roberts include the Bond-trained Captainshavtime (race three) and Troubadour (race seven).
“This looks like a nice race, first-up, for Captainshavtime, who will be racing against older horses for the first time,” said Roberts. “Her work at home has been good. She is a horse who needs to be up on speed, so I don’t know whether this back-line draw will suit her.”
Roberts said that there were excuses for Troubadour’s well-beaten ninth behind Vinita Rose last Friday night, and she expects a better performance from barrier four on Friday night when his obvious toughest rivals Spitfire and Lincoln Lou have drawn the two outside positions on the front line.
“It was hard to come from behind in the wet last week, and the slow pace didn’t help Troubadour,” said Roberts. “I will be planning to send him forward on Friday night because he races well when up on the speed.”
Luvbite set to shine at WA debut
Luvbite, a seasoned veteran of 147 starts with a poor winning percentage of nine and a losing sequence of 31, is given a chance at his West Australian debut when he clashes with highly promising five-year-old A Little Silence in the 2130m Garrard’s Horse And Hound @ Bendigo Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“We can beat A Little Silence,” said confident driver Emily Suvaljko. “Luvbite raced in an Inters Consolation at Albion Park last July (when he was an $81 chance who raced three back on the pegs before fading to finish 11TH behind Jimartee).
“He has dropped right back in grade, and he won a trial at Byford last Saturday when Captain Ravishing looked to have had him on the corner, but Luvbite kicked back and beat him. And his work this morning (Tuesday) was good.
“Luvbite will be driven positively, and we would like to get to the front and give A Little Silence something to chase. But if we’re in the breeze, we won’t be handing up to him.”
In contrast to Luvbite’s considerable experience, A Little Silence, prepared by master trainer Gary Hall Snr and driven by Gary Hall Jnr, has raced only four times for two second placings in New Zealand and two easy victories at Gloucester Park on the past two Fridays.
Hall Jnr said that he has been impressed with A Little Silence’s efforts and said that the gelding was his best winning chance in the eight-event program.
Luvbite is prepared by Banjup trainer Michael Young and is now owned by a syndicate of nine clients of the stable. He has earned $201,876 from 13 wins and 57 placings from 147 starts. He won twice in Victoria (at Horsham and Ballarat), ten times at Brisbane’s Albert Park track and twice at Tamworth in New South Wales.
Apart from A Little Silence, Hall has excellent prospects with several other runners on Friday night, including Franco Motu, Cease To React, Rox The World, Final Collect and Sweet Pins.
