Fakenit Is Poised For The Top
Brilliant four-year-old Fakenit gave further proof that she will be a major player in the rich feature events for mares later this year when she romped to an easy victory in the $50,000 Group 3 Kerry Clarke Free-For-All over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“She is capable, one hundred per cent, of matching it with the State’s top mares in those feature races,” said Stuart McDonald after driving Fakenit to an all-the-way win over Eastbro Chrissy and Wave Rebellion, rating 1.55.5.
Fakenit, prepared by champion trainer Gary Hall Snr, is likely to have a spell before being aimed at the $100,000 Westbred Classic for four-year-old mares on September 4 and the $100,000 Norms Daughter Classic (November 6) and the $150,000 Mares Classic a fortnight later.
“If she leads in the big races, I don’t think the other star mares will be able to beat her,” said McDonald.
Fakenit, the $1.50 favourite, began from the No. 1 barrier and after comfortable opening quarters of 30.3sec. and 29.3sec. she sped over the third 400m section in 27.6sec. before McDonald took hold of the mare in the final quarter which she covered in 29sec.
“She could have run the final quarter faster, but Heavenly Gipsy was travelling strongly behind us, and I didn’t want to let that mare out, so I had to hold back,” said McDonald.
“I wasn’t panicking when Aardiebytheseaside was in the breeze and putting pressure on Fakenit.”
Aardiebytheseaside ($4.80) was on terms with Fakenit with 500m to travel before she wilted to finish fifth. Last-start winner Eastbro Chrissy ($4.60) enjoyed an ideal passage in the one-out, one-back position and fought on gamely to finish second.
McDonald has happy memories of Fakenit’s debut in an event for three-year-olds at Gloucester Park on March 4, 2025, when she began from barrier one.
“She got away like a mule (galloping for the first few strides) before leading and sprinting over the third quarter in 26.9sec. before winning easily from Captainshavtime, and that showed that she was very good,” said McDonald.
Fakenit, a mare by American Ideal, has earned $247,029 from seven wins and eight placings from 18 starts. She has raced against male opposition only three times, for her debut win, Friday night’s success and her excellent third behind Runkle Crunch in the WA Derby last October. McDonald has driven her four times for two wins and two seconds.
Cup Plans For Bettors Pride
Victorian-bred four-year-old Bettors Pride is progressing in fine style, and his trainer Kevin Keys and driver Shannon Suvaljko are looking forward to him continuing to improve to earn a start in the $450,000 WA Pacing Cup on December 11.
Bettors Pride, an $8.90 chance, ended a losing sequence of 15 (including eight placings) when he failed in a bid to win the start and set the pace in the $31,000 Christmas In July Pace over 2536m at Gloucester Park on Friday night but emerged triumphant.
“His previous run (when he flew home from the rear to finish second to Opal Hunter the previous week) was super,” said Suvaljko. “He has got a lot stronger and is a good Cups hope.”
Keys agreed, saying: “We are hoping to make the Pacing Cup. He has to put his hand up a bit more, and I think he is good enough to do it.
“He impresses me at home; I like his turn of foot, and I think he will be a very handy horse in fast class, and in better fields the better he will go.
“Tonight, we planned to take the lead, but I didn’t want handlebars down and him doing too much early, and when Our Crunch Time held him out at the start Shannon drove Bettors Pride very well and everything worked out perfectly.”
Bettors Pride enjoyed an ideal trip in sixth position, one-out and two-back, before Suvaljko sent him forward, four wide with just over 500m to travel. He got the upper hand 80m from the post and beat Our Crunch Time by a half-neck, rating 1.57.3 after final quarters of 28.3sec. and 28.6sec.
Bettors Pride has now earned $137,011 from eight wins and nine placings from 28 starts.
Gee Heza Sport, the $1.90 favourite, began from the outside of the front line and raced in last position before being sent forward to be eighth at the bell and then fading to finish a distant last. He bled and will be banned from racing for the mandatory three months.
Keys, Suvaljko and Jim Giumelli’s Swandoo syndicate completed a double when $5.20 chance Koojan raced without cover before winning the 2130m $9 Swan Draught Pints Pace.
Aretha, the polemarker and $2.30 favourite at her first appearance for eight and a half months, set the pace before fading to finish last in the field of eleven. “She was slow to recover, and I think that there is something affecting her, but it is nothing obvious,” said her trainer Jemma Hayman.
This was Koojan’s fourth win from his past eight starts and boosted his earnings to $63,082 from five wins and five placings from 17 starts.
Suvaljko completed a treble when he drove the $2.10 favourite In Full Flight to victory in the www.gloucesterpark.com.au Pace over 2130m.
In Full Flight dashed to an early lead from barrier four and after a slow lead time of 37.7sec. and an ambling opening quarter of 32.5sec. she ran the following 400m sections in 30.2sec., 28.3sec. and 29.5sec. to hold on and win by a neck at a 1.59.5 rate from $71 outsider Highview Rozi, who trailed the pacemaker all the way.
“She is a nice filly with a good motor, and I have always liked her,” said trainer Jemma Hayman. “As a two-year-old she was a bit too revvy and we had to work on her manners to get her to settle.
“It has been a huge win, getting her to settle, and now we can utilise her gate speed, whereas previously she wasn’t able to do that. There are some nice feature races coming up (including the $100,000 Westbred Classic for three-year-old fillies on September 4) and hopefully she will develop into a WA Oaks contender.”
Illawong Mustang Is A Bargain
Byford trainer Craig Hynam made a wise decision about nine months ago to outlay $4000 to buy veteran pacer Illawong Mustang, who is proving to be an excellent bargain.
Nine-year-old Illawong Mustang was a $9.20 chance at his second appearance after a spell when Emily Suvaljko revved him up early from the outside barrier (No. 9) on the front line to surge to the front after 250m in the 2130m Christmas Party Pace over 2130m.
Illawong Mustang relished his pacemaking role and he appeared in no danger as he bowled along in front and won by two lengths from the $1.80 favourite Curadh, who was sixth at the bell before pacing roughly and losing momentum in the back straight and then fighting on gamely.
“He was advertised on the Internet for $4000 plus $2000 from his first win, said Hynam. “I had always liked him, particularly because of his gate speed, and tonight was his third metro-class win for me.”
The Victorian-bred Illawong Mustang is raced by Hynam’s partner Samantha McIntyre and young reinsman Kaden Elliott, and the gelding’s 23 starts for them have resulted in three wins, two seconds and $54,513 in prizemoney, taking his career record to 156 starts for 18 wins (seven in Victoria) and 31 placings for stakes of $231,130. He is the first foal out of Light In Every Day, who had 72 starts in Victoria and New South Wales for eleven wins, 32 placings and $129,255.
Art Ideal, the $2.10 favourite in the 2130m Trotsynd, Join The Fun Pace, gave young driver Kylah Madden a few anxious moments before scoring an easy win over the breeze horse Under The Alta ($9.50).
“I was a bit nervous because he went a bit roughly out of the gate and nearly galloped on the first bend,” Madden explained. “I grabbed him up and he got back into his gear. He is flying and was pulling so hard that I couldn’t really hold him. However, he did really well to get the job done.”
Art Ideal, a New South Wales-bred four-year-old having his third start after a spell, has raced 28 times for eight wins, seven placings and $60,535 in stakes, and he looks set for many more wins.
Madden maintained her grand form in the sulky when she drove veteran pacer Luvbite to victory in the $30,000 York Cup at Northam’s Burwood Park on Saturday night.
Luvbite, trained by Michael Young, was the $3.30 favourite and sole backmarker off the 50m mark, and he came from the rear at the bell where he followed a three-wide burst from $5 chance Our Vinnie, who took the lead on the turn into the back straight.
Luvbite got to the front 380m from home and he and Our Vinnie matched strides in the home straight, with Luvbite gaining the verdict by a head.
Sweet Pins Is Back To His Best
New Zealand-bred pacer Sweet Pins has done all of his racing in WA, and he made an early impression when he won at his first four starts in the State and was successful at five of his first six runs.
But he then suffered a form slump and had a losing sequence of eight. However, he has regained form with a vengeance, and he produced a sample of his class with a splendid victory in the 2130m Christmas In July Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Sweet Pins, trained by Gary Hall Snr, was the $4.30 favourite from the outside barrier (No. 9) on the front line and he raced in last position before Gary Hall Jnr set him alight with a sizzling three-wide burst 1050m from home.
He quickly moved to the outside of the pacemaker Delulu ($4) and remained in the breeze until he dashed to the front 220m from home before winning by a length from $21 chance Medieval Man, rating 1.56.9.
“Sweet Pins is a good horse when he’s right,” said Hall Jnr. “He wasn’t right for a while, but he has been going very well at his past five or six runs. Earlier, he had a lot of issues but none of them seems to be affecting him now, touch wood. He will get to Free-For-Alls, and he can follow any speed and still reel off a good half.”
Sweet Pins has now earned $107,506 from eight wins and five placings from 22 starts. He is the third foal out of unraced American Ideal mare Pretty Pins, whose first two foals Captain Pins and Miki Pins have been successful on the racetrack, with Captain Pins having raced 73 times for ten wins, 18 placings and $112,142, and Miki Pins earning $140,516 from ten wins and 11 placings from 36 starts.
Sweet Pins gave Hall Jnr the second leg of a double, following his win with the Justin Prentice-trained Elite Fleet in the 2130m The ULE Hoof Oil Pace.
Elite Fleet ($3) began from the outside of the back line, and Hall was seen at his brilliant best when he got the four-year-old away to a flying start and dashed him to the lead after 300m to give him a vital advantage over the $2.75 favourite Major Miki Whitby.
After a quick lead time of 35.8sec. Elite Fleet relaxed and sauntered through the opening 400m sections in 31.2sec. and 31.3sec. before sprinting home with final quarters of 28.5sec. and 28.9sec. to win comfortably from Ideal Interest and Major Miki Whitby.
Elite Fleet, purchased for $75,000 at the 2023 Perth APG yearling sale, has earned $55,434 from six wins and four placings from 18 starts and is set for a bright future.
Another four-year-old to impress on Friday night was the Aiden De Campo-trained Up And Alive, the $1.10 favourite driven by Joey Suvaljko who led from barrier one and won the 1730m Steelo’s Pace for mares by a half-length from Minor Catastrophe ($16), rating 1.56.5 after final quarters of 28.9sec. and 28.4sec. Up And Alive has raced 41 times for six wins, 17 placings and $71,265.
Ten-year-old Cams Boulder, driven by Ryan Warwick for Pinjarra trainer Russell Eddy, was a $13.20 chance when he charged forward from barrier six to get to the front after 120m in the 2130m Bridge Bar Pace.
A hopple shortening pin released prematurely soon after the start, causing Cams Boulder to pace roughly as he took the lead from the $2.80 favourite Del Bocavista Bay, who paced roughly and lost momentum after his off foreleg received slight contact from Cams Boulder’s nearside sulky wheel.
After slow opening quarters of 32.2sec. and 29.7sec. Cams Boulder dashed over the final 400m sections in 28.5sec. and 28.1sec. and held on to win by a head from $3.20 second fancy Final Collect, who fought on doggedly after racing without cover all the way.
