Roberts Opts For Kinky
Deni Roberts faced a tough decision to choose between driving Kinky or When In Vegas in the opening event, the 2130m Free Entry Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night, before being swayed by Kinky’s more favourable barrier and opting to handle the New Zealand-bred four-year-old mare.
Kinky, trained by Greg and Skye Bond, will begin from the No. 2 barrier on the front line, with stablemate When In Vegas, the only other four-year-old in the race, awkwardly drawn at barrier six.
Roberts drove When In Vegas at Gloucester Park on Tuesday night when he began smartly from out wide at barrier seven and gave a solid frontrunning performance to win by a half-length from fast-finishing stablemate Wicked Hustler, rating 1.58.1.
Kyle Symington will handle When In Vegas on Friday night. The WA-bred gelding has had 32 starts for eight wins and ten placings. He has been driven by Roberts for seven of his victories.
When In Vegas impressed with his fast lead time of 36.2sec. on Tuesday night, and he had to be driven hard over the concluding stages to hold out Wicked Hustler.
“After using him early he didn’t have much left in the tank at the end, but I was happy with his run,” said Roberts, who has driven Kinky for all of her six wins.
Kinky disappointed when she was a fading ninth behind Pocket The Change over 2130m last Friday night. She began from the outside barrier (No. 3) on the back line and raced in sixth position, one-out and two-back, before starting a three-wide move approaching the bell and then dropping back in the late stages.
Roberts was swayed in her decision to drive Kinky on Friday night after considering the mare’s strong performance two starts ago when she raced without cover all the way and fought on doggedly to finish a 2m second to her pacemaking stablemate Munroes Mate.
The Bond stable and Roberts have sound winning prospects with Our Crunch Time and Justcallmemiki later on Friday night’s program.
Four-year-old Our Crunch Time will begin from out wide at barrier eight in the 2130m The ONN1 Stakes Pace in which his clash with richly-talented four-year-old mare Fabulous Dream should provide plenty of action.
The lightly-raced Our Crunch Time has resumed after a spell in fine style with his four starts in his current campaign producing a first-up all-the-way victory over Last Hard Copy, seconds to Soho Moonraker and Bettors Pride and a third behind Im Lightning Banner and Ultimate Miki.
“Our Crunch Time looks a good chance,” said Roberts. “This is probably a lesser race than what he has been in.”
Our Crunch Time enjoyed a favourable trip in the one-out, one-back position before being switched three wide 270m from home and fighting to finish third behind Im Lightning Banner last Friday night when the final 800m was covered in 56.2sec.
Fabulous Dream is ideally drawn at barrier No. 2 and the Kevin Keys-trained mare, to be driven by Shannon Suvaljko, will have many admirers at her first appearance for seven weeks.
“This is a handy field, and I was slightly disappointed with her last-start third (behind Sweet Pins and A Little Silence),” said Keys.
Justcallmemiki, a winner at twelve of his 34 starts, raced in the breeze and was inclined to hang in before fading to sixth behind Hotly Pursued over 2130m three Fridays ago.
“He will start from barrier two on the back line which is a nice draw for him,” said Roberts.
Bettors Pride On Trial For Cup
Smart five-year-old Bettors Pride is in peak form according to his trainer Kevin Keys, and the gelding has excellent prospects of winning the $25,000 Westside Auto Cars Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night and earning a start in the $50,000 Group 3 Winter Cup over 2536m the following Friday.
Bettors Pride will start from the No. 5 barrier, leaving ace reinsman Shannon Suvaljko will the option of attempting to set the pace or taking a sit and relying on the pacer’s brilliant sprinting ability.
“He is a good leader but generally I prefer him coming from behind,” said Keys.
The versatile Bettors Pride ended a losing sequence of 15, including eight placings, last Friday week when he failed in a spirited bid to burst straight to the front and then raced in the breeze for 550m before he enjoyed a comfortable passage in sixth position, one-out and two-back, and then charging home to win from the frontrunning Our Crunch Time, rating 1.57.3 over the 2536m trip after final quarters of 28.3sec. and 28.6sec.
Master Publisher, trained by Gary Hall snr and to be driven by Gary Hall Jnr, is favourably drawn at barrier two and looks one of the main rivals for Bettors Pride.
The New Zealand-bred nine-year-old raced in eleventh position and was blocked for a clear run in the closing stages when seventh behind Sweet Pins last Friday night. He fought on from seventh at the bell when a sound fourth behind Bettors Pride the previous week, and trailed the pacemaker Hotly Pursued when second to that pacer a week earlier.
Blythewood trainer Kim Prentice has two in-form runners in the race, with Mitch Miller choosing to drive Soho Moonraker from the No. 3 barrier, with Abbey Vidovich engaged to handle Soho The Real Deal from out wide at barrier eight.
Soho Moonraker was driven by Vidovich when he resumed after a five-month absence and trailed the leader Our Crunch Time before finishing to win from that pacer over 2185m at Pinjarra three Mondays ago. He then again trailed the frontrunning Our Crunch Time and finished fifth behind Bettors Pride last Friday week.
Soho The Real Deal began from the outside of the back line when he ran home gamely from sixth at the bell to finish second to Cee Dee Three last Friday night.
Ten-year-old Cams Boulder is racing with youthful enthusiasm for trainer Russell Eddy and reinsman Ryan Warwick, and he is capable of figuring in the finish after starting from the No. 4 barrier. He led and won by a head from Final Collect last Friday week and then trailed the frontrunning Sweet Pins when second to that smart pacer last Friday night.
Anderson’s Strong Hand
Veteran Byford trainer Peter Anderson holds a strong hand in one of the minor events at Gloucester Park on Friday night with four of the ten runners engaged in the $21,000 Westside Auto For Your Tyres Pace over 2130m.
He will be represented by Chevrons Gold (barrier one), The Righteous (three), True Grit (five) and Into The Future (seven), with his main hopes likely to be the polemarker Chevrons Gold, to be driven by Tom Nally, and The Righteous, who will be handled by Gary Hall Jnr.
Hall has a 100 per cent record with The Righteous, a seemingly indestructible ten-year-old who has enjoyed a 178-start career of 17 wins and 41 placings.
Hall’s only drive behind The Righteous was when the WA-bred gelding set the pace from the No. 3 barrier and won from Reddy To Fly over 2130m at Gloucester Park three starts ago, on March 6. He then was off the scene for 15 weeks before resuming as a $91 outsider when sixth behind Art Ideal at Gloucester Park last Friday week.
The Righteous then was a $126 chance last Friday night when he raced in ninth position before running home gamely to finish fourth behind Pocket The Change, Holy Hecka and Charivari.
Four-year-old Chevrons Gold began from the back line and raced three back on the pegs when fourth behind Dawson Shard over 1609m at Bunbury last Saturday night.
That followed his maiden success the previous Saturday night when he began from the No. 6 barrier and after racing wide early, he set the pace and defeated Camel Plus by just under two lengths.
Chris Voak will drive True Grit, an all-the-way Gloucester Park winner five starts ago, and Kyle Symington will drive Into The Future, a Gloucester Park winner four starts ago when he beat Mysta Moon Walker.
Serpentine trainer Matt Scott has two experienced runners in Friday night’s event, Barbados (barrier four) and Gee Smith (barrier eight), with Shannon Suvaljko opting to drive Barbados ahead of Gee Smith, who will be driven by Aiden De Campo at the nine-year-old’s 210th
Six-year-old Barbados notched his eleventh win at his 122th start when he trailed the pacemaker Soho Confidential before gaining a lucky inside run in the back straight in the final lap and going on to beat Gee Smith by three lengths over 2130m last Friday night.
Baldivis trainer Kristian Hawkins will be looking for a strong effort from Jamie Kim, who will be driven by Jocelyn Young from the favourable No. 2 barrier. Jamie Kim is a capable pacemaker who showed his versatility with a fast-finishing victory at Kellerberrin five starts ago.
Five-year-old Ideal Interest and four-year-old Mysta Moon Walker are in sound form and will have many admirers.
McDonald’s Happy Memory
Stuart McDonald retains fond memories of one of his first winners when he drove Robyns C C to a fighting victory at Gloucester Park on October 1, 2013, and now he is looking forward to that mare’s second foal Beyond The Sea ending a losing sequence of 16 when she begins from the No. 3 barrier in the 2130m Christmas In July Pace at WA pacing’s headquarters on Friday night.
Seven-year-old Beyond The Sea will be making her third appearance for her new trainer Micheal Ferguson, and she impressed first-up after an eight-month absence when she ran home strongly from the rear to finish second to Raklou over 1684m at Pinjarra three Mondays ago.
Then she had no luck last Friday night when she began speedily from barrier four but was unable to cross to the front, leaving McDonald with little option but to restrain her back to the rear. She battled on from 12th at the bell to finish eighth behind Thelittle Master.
That was McDonald’s first drive behind Beyond The Sea. He also drove Robyns C C only once, in the mare’s win over Rowchester in the final of a concession drivers challenge in 2013.
Beyond The Sea retains the ability which she revealed when she won the group 2 Norms Daughter Classic in November 2023, beating the pacemaker Wonderful To Fly, Born To Boogie and Steno.
There could be an interesting battle for the early lead in Friday night’s event, with McDonald expected to use Beyond The Sea’s excellent gate speed, and Kevin Keys, a part-owner and trainer of the polemarker Kurious Boy saying that he had hopes that the gelding, a noted tardy beginner, would be able to make a fast getaway and then set the pace.
“This week I expect him to lead and go very well,” said Keys. Kurious Boy has been unplaced at his past 15 starts since he finished strongly to win from Reset The Bar and Manhattan Moon over 2130m at Gloucester Park on February 20 this year.
Among the main dangers to Beyond The Sea are Hunger Strike and Insta Gator, with Hunger Strike, to be driven by Kylah Madden for trainer Nathan Turvey, warming up for her assignment on Friday night with a solid effort to finish a close third behind When In Vegas and Wicked Hustler on Tuesday night after racing without cover all the way.
Insta Gator, trained and driven by Jocelyn Young, will be making his first appearance since racing in the breeze and finishing sixth behind Soho Moonraker on New Years Eve last year. He has a losing sequence of 12 and will start out wide at barrier eight. He has recorded two easy trial wins in small fields at Pinjarra last month and is capable of a bold first-up showing.
