Fierce confrontation is on the cards
A classic confrontation is on the cards at Gloucester Park on Friday night when superstar pacers Minstrel and Magnificent Storm clash in what should prove to be a no-holds-barred contest in the $1,250,000 TABtouch Nullarbor slot race.
Confidence levels are high in both camps as rival trainers Greg Bond (Minstrel) and Ray Williams (Magnificent Storm) admit they have a good degree of respect for each other’s horse.
Both New Zealand-bred nine-year-old equine millionaires are in the twilight of superb careers --- and this week’s testing 2536m trip will see them clash for the 19TH time, with Magnificent Storm showing the way, having finished ahead of his rival ten times.
Magnificent Storm’s blistering gate speed looks certain to ensure that he will burst to the front and set the pace, while Bond, who prepares Minstrel in partnership with his wife Skye, is making no secret that the gelding’s driver Deni Roberts will go all out to exert extreme pressure on the frontrunning Magnificent Storm.
“We will be trading blows with Magnificent Storm,” declared Bond after Magnificent Storm drew the No. 4 barrier, with Minstrel on his immediate outside at barrier five.
“It appears on paper that Magnificent Storm will cross to the front, and obviously Minstrel needs to be right outside of him. Our school of thought is that probably Minstrel can’t beat Magnificent Storm for speed, so we will have to make it an honestly-run affair, and hopefully take some of the sprint out of Magnificent Storm and rely on Minstrel’s toughness to get us over the line, something similar to the WA Pacing Cup last December.
In the Pacing Cup Minstrel began from barrier two and led for the first 200m before Magnificent Storm charged to the front from barrier eight. Roberts immediately eased Minstrel off the pegs and into the breeze to apply pressure on the pacemaker.
Minstrel was a half-length behind Magnificent Storm on the home bend before finishing powerfully to get up in the final couple of strides to beat his arch rival by a half-neck, rating a slick 1.54.4 over 2536m after final quarters of 28.7sec., 27.7sec. and 27.9sec.
“Minstrel is clearly the toughest horse we have ever trained, and he is at another level to our good horses over the years,” said Bond. “We have had our plan in place for this week’s race all along, with four weeks between races.
“He has ticked every box at home and Friday night can’t come quick enough; he will run a great race. On form and what they have done, Minstrel and Magnificent Storm look the best two. However, it is not a two-horse race by any stretch of imagination.”
Williams reports that all is well with Magnificent Storm, who has excelled as a pacemaker in winning at all of his five starts this year, and he should have sufficient early speed to win the start against Victorian ten-year-old Max Delight, who has scored 22 all-the-way wins in a 160-start career of 37 wins and 52 placings.
The Michael Young-trained six-year-old Hugotastic, a comparative novice with seven wins from 24 starts, has drawn the coveted No. 1 barrier and Shannon Suvaljko will be anxious to get the gelding away smartly in the hope of enjoying a perfect sit behind the expected pacemaker Magnificent Storm.
“He had the No. 1 draw in the Bunbury Cup two starts ago when he sat behind the pacemaker Magnificent Storm and finished second to that horse,” said Young.
Williams is upbeat about Magnificent Storm’s winning prospects, saying: “He is a tough horse who tries hard. I expect it to be a fast-run race and may the best horse win. He is old and is getting a bit grumpy, but he knows when to go to work.
“He galloped up the hill at home this morning (Tuesday) and his heart rate was really good. I don’t like getting over-confident, but the horse is as good as he has ever been.”
Aiden De Campo, who will be in the sulky behind Magnificent Storm, said: “We are old sparring partners and I’m expecting Minstrel to be putting on the pressure. It is good that we have drawn inside Minstrel, so we won’t have to burn to get across him. A fierce battle out in front could make the race for a swooper; it’s not a two-horse race.”
For the connections of Minstrel they are hoping that this week’s race will prove to be a case of third time lucky --- after the gelding’s second to Catch A Wave in the 2024 Nullarbor and his third behind Mister Smartee last year.
Talented Boyanup trainer Justin Prentice has Mighty Ronaldo in peak form, with his latest three outings resulting in a second to Minstrel and fast-finishing efforts for a third and a second behind Magnificent Storm.
Mighty Ronaldo will have the services of Gary Hall Jnr, who drove Mister Smartee to victory in last year’s Nullarbor, and Mighty Ronaldo will create history on Friday night when he becomes the only pacer to have contested the first three editions of the Nullarbor, with this week’s ten runners combining for 242 victories, 228 placings and prizemoney of $8,117,304.
Bulletproof Boy set to fire
Cranbourne trainer Scott Ewen is a sanguine character who is refusing to become downcast after his remarkable 11-year-old pacer Bulletproof Boy drew out wide at barrier No. 8 on the front line in the $1,250,000 TABtouch Nullarbor slot race at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
On the contrary, the 57-year-old Ewen is looking forward to the big race with considerable confidence.
And his confidence is not ill-founded because Bulletproof Boy is a proven giant killer who has defeated Leap To Fame, Australasia’s best pacer and arguably the best in the world, and has lowered the colours of star performers Petracca and Kingman in winning the Bendigo Cup in January and has scored an outstanding victory at a 1.50.5 rate over 1609m in the Newcastle Mile four starts ago.
Bulletproof Boy will be driven by champion Victorian reinsman James Herbertson, who landed a treble at Melton on Wednesday night with Kennys Son, Isolation and Dusty Philtra to take his tally of winners this season to 101.
“He is a brilliant high speed horse,” said Ewen. “He showed that last October when he raced three back on the pegs and flew home to snatch a half-head win over Leap To Fame (rating 1.51.1 over 1720m at Melton).”
Four starts ago, Bulletproof Boy began from the outside barrier (No. 8) when he was restrained to last and was seventh with 300m to travel before switching five wide on the home turn and winning by a half-length from the odds-on favourite Rakero Rocket in the Newcastle Mile.
At his next appearance, in the Miracle Mile at Menangle on March 14 Bulletproof Boy was badly checked at the start and galloped back to a distant last before making up several lengths to finish seventh, four lengths behind the winner, Leap To Fame.
His two subsequent starts were at Melton when he led and finished second to Fighter Command before he began from barrier three and set a slow pace before winning by a neck from Fighter Command, rating a slow 1.59 over 2240m after final 400m sections of 28.6sec. and 26.7sec.
“He is just a speed horse, but he will probably go back at the start on Friday night and hope that another horse will cart him into the race,” said Ewen. “He can sprint 600m and always has. He won’t disappoint; he never has.”
Ewen was pleased when he drove Bulletproof Boy in a workout on the Bond stable’s track on Tuesday morning. “He worked with one of the stable’s mares and was in the breeze over the final 500m and ran the 2400m in 2min. 58sec. with final quarters of 28sec. and 26.7sec.,” said Ewen.
“James (Herbertson) is such a good driver that he needs no instructions.”
Bulletproof Boy has proved to be an iron horse, having raced 230 times for 53 wins (22 in South Australia, 30 in Victoria and one in New South Wales) and earning $973,266.
He has enjoyed a remarkable career after being a difficult pacer to handle in his early days in Adelaide.
“As a young horse he was terrible,” said Ewen. “He was highly strung and we had a lot of trouble keeping him straight in the bike. But he still won races in Adelaide and was the Two-Year-Old of the Year and the Three-Year-Old of the Year there.
“He used to run sideways and could still beat them, so I knew he was going to go a long way but never dreamed he would be running in grand circuit races.”
Rare barrier for Rockandrollartist
Speedy seven-year-old Rockandrollartist will start from the prized No. 1 barrier for the first time for 17 months when he contests the $31,000 TABtouch Watch Sky Racing Parliamentarians Cup over 2536m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
And trainer-reinsman Aiden De Campo aims to make the most of the favourable barrier by winning the start, setting the pace and winning for the 18TH time in a 104-start career.
The most recent time that Rockandrollartist began from the No. 1 barrier was when he finished a three-length second to Spicey Major at Gloucester Park on November 15, 2024.
He has won once from 14 starts this season when he charged to the front from barrier four, led and beat Petes Honour by 7m over 2130m five starts ago, on March 13.
“Rockandrollartist should be leading and will take a lot of beating on Friday night,” said De Campo.
One of Rockandrollartist’s main rivals is likely to be his five-year-old stablemate Menemsha, who will start from the inside of the back line, immediately behind Rockandrollartist. Menemshaw, who has a losing sequence of eleven, will be driven by Joey Suvaljko at his second appearance after a spell.
Also, sure to be prominent will be Chivalry, who will start from the outside of the back line after he impressed as a $51 outsider last Friday night when he began from barrier six, raced wide early and then in the breeze before getting to the front with 600m to travel and fighting on to finish an excellent second to Runkle Crunch when the final 800m was run in a smart 55.8sec.
Runkle Crunch, last year’s WA Derby winner, is trained and driven by De Campo and will be one of the fancies in the $100,000 TABtouch Preux Chevalier Classic for four-year-olds.
Runkle Crunch will begin from the No. 4 barrier and is sure to meet stiff opposition from the polemarker Lazi Dais, who looks certain to set the pace for trainer Ryan Bell and reinsman Ryan Warwick.
Lazi Dais remained unbeaten at five starts this season when he gave a powerful frontrunning display to score an easy victory over Major Miki Whitby over 2130m last Friday night when he sprinted over the final quarters in 28.6sec. and 27.5sec.
Deni Roberts faces a busy night with drives in eight of the ten events, including superstar Minstrel in the Nullarbor slot race. She also has excellent prospects with Heres Herbie (race two), Captainshavtime (race three), Mad Monday (race four) and Aardiebytheseaside (race five).
Roberts said that the seven-year-old New Zealand-bred Heres Herbie was the best winning chance of those runners. Heres Herbie will be making his Australian debut when he begins from barrier five in the 2130m TABtouch Scan My Bet Pace.
Captainshavtime will start from the No. 5 barrier in the 2536m Download Today Empress Stakes Consolation, with Roberts saying: “She goes pretty good and it is unfortunate that she didn’t get a run in the big one, the $75,000 Empress Stakes.
“Aardiebytheseaside can figure in the finish of the Empress Stakes, despite drawing the outside barrier on the front line. She was unlucky when she was hampered for room in the home straight and finished ninth behind Delightful Peg last Friday night when having her first start after a spell.”
