In Her Dam’s Footsteps
A decade or so ago veteran trainer Ross Olivieri enjoyed many successes with Sheer Rocknroll, and now he has high hopes that the second of her progeny, Sheer Rock Lady, will prove a worthy successor on the track.
Four-year-old Sheer Rock Lady produced a sample of her class at Gloucester Park on Friday night when she scored a smart victory in the 2130m Quay Transport Pace for mares when having her fourth start after a spell.
She is comparatively inexperienced but has already earned $50,038 from seven wins and four placings from 21 starts and gives every indication of bigger and better things to come.
“Sheer Rock Lady is a big mare, and is bigger than her dam,” said Olivieri. “Sheer Rocknroll did a lot as a two and three-year-old, whereas this girl (Sheer Rock Lady) is four already.
“There are no ambitious plans for Sheer Rock Lady, but she is on the improve. She is classy and is strong and she also has speed. She has run a 26sec. quarter in a race at Pinjarra and when she gets a head of steam, she is pretty fast.”
Olivieri has no set plans for Sheer Rock Lady, but he is hopeful she will keep improving and become a worthy candidate in the $100,000 Group 2 Westbred feature event for mares over 2130m on September 4.
Olivieri prepared Sheer Rocknroll for her victories as a four-year-old in Group 3 features in the Race For Roses and the WASBA Breeders Stakes in 2017 when she followed in the footsteps of her dam Sheer Royalty, who amassed $248,904 from nine wins and seven placings from 33 starts.
As a three-year-old Sheer Royalty won the Group 3 Daintys Daughter Classic and the Group 1 WA Oaks and State Sires Series final.
Olivieri’s fond memories of many great clashes between Sheer Rocknroll and Dodolicious were revived at the Northam meeting last Saturday week when the fourth of the progeny of Dodolicious, two-year-old filly Ilkeitlikethat scored a most impressive victory, beating Funny As by four and a half lengths.
Sheer Rock Lady, driven by Shannon Suvaljko, was awkwardly drawn at barrier six and was the $3.20 second fancy, with the $2.80 favourite, Diamond World at No. 5, with Chris Voak in the sulky for trainer Jemma Hayman, Olivieri’s wife.
Diamond World led for the first 450m until Suvaljko sent Sheer Rock Lady to the front. “I thought that the ones on our inside would hand up, so I decided to keep going forward because she is a strong mare who is also tractable and versatile,” said Suvaljko.
Diamond World fought on solidly to finish second to Sheer Rock Lady, who rated 1.58.2 after covering the final 800m in 57.6sec.
Olivieri, who has trained the winner of 2571 races and has won the State’s trainers’ premiership eight times, still enjoys his hands-on involvement in harness racing, with Sheer Rock Lady winning at four of her eight starts this season and Diamondsareforever winning twice from seven starts in 2026.
Hall Lands $3624 Trifecta
Hall of Fame trainer Gary Hall Snr stole the limelight at Gloucester Park on Friday night when his stablemates, Alta Tribute, Youre So Fine and Sweet Pins, all at double-figure odds, finished one, two and three in the $31,000 ARG Rotary Club of Fremantle Free-For-All.
The trifecta dividend was a handsome $3624.60. And for good measure, Gary Hall Jnr drove the fourth placegetter, Mighty Ronaldo for trainer Justin Prentice, with the first four dividend $11,803.70.
A clever drive by Maddison Brown paved the way for $17.60 chance Alta Tribute’s victory in the event in which Hotly Pursued dominated betting and was a hot $1.60 favourite.
Hotly Pursued, from barrier four, was expected to burst straight to the front. Kylah Madden got Hotly Pursued away to a flying start and the six-year-old led by a length in the early stages but was unable to cross when Hale Saint Louie ($13) from the No. 1 barrier, and $81 outsider Chivalry booted up on his inside.
The lead time was a scorching 34.9sec. and the Hotly Pursued finally got to the front after 550m. This saw Alta Tribute four back on the pegs in fourth position after beginning from the inside of the back line.
The early speed saw the field open up, and Brown then made the bold decision to vacate the pegs run and move to the breeze about 580m after the start. Fortuitously, Alta Tribute gained the favourable one-out, one-back spot when the aggressive Aiden De Campo brought Youre So Fine ($12) from the rear with a fast burst to move to the breeze after a lap had been completed.
Madden was able to get Hotly Pursued to relax and run the opening quarters of the final mile in 31.1sec. and 30.2sec. The third 400m section went by in a quick 28.2sec. and the early hectic pace began to take its toll on Hotly Pursued, and De Campo dashed Youre So Fine to the front with about 220m ton travel.
Brown switched Alta Tribute three wide approaching the home turn, and the gelding sprinted fast to hit the front 45m from the post and go on and win by almost a length from Youre So Fine, with $14 chance Sweet Pins, driven by Stuart McDonald, coming from eighth at the bell with a strong five-wide burst to finish third, with the final 400m being run in 27.8sec.
Alta Tribute has recovered from a bow tendon a couple of years ago and has now earned $202,326 from ten wins and ten placings from 37 starts. He will be set for the $50,000 Group 3 August Cup over 2536m on August 21.
Anderson Happy To Fill In
Byford horseman Peter Anderson has been happy to act as the caretaker trainer of Elwaddell in the past few weeks while the six-year-old’s trainer Lindsay Harper has been recovering from fractured ribs he received when a horse kicked him.
And Anderson was repaid for his assistance when Elwaddell, a $5.20 chance, gave a bold frontrunning display to win the 2130m Quay Transport Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Elwaddell, driven by Harper’s daughter-in-law Lauren Harper, gave his rivals little hope by sprinting over the final quarters in 28.3sec. and 27.7sec. and he rated 1.56.2 when he beat the $3.60 favourite Sweet Coco by just under a length after she had finished determinedly from seventh at the bell.
Anderson has a long association with Elwaddell, having purchased him as a weanling and owning a share in him with Lindsay Harper and Lindsay’s sister Christine Nash.
He was interested in the weanling because he was by outstanding American sire American Ideal and was the third foal out of Hilmore Disco, a mare he raced with limited success and was retired to the breeding barn with a modest record of 80 starts for three wins, 22 placings and $38,216 in prizemoney.
“I liked Hilmore Disco because she went fast for me at Pinjarra, and I was able to buy the weanling when Ross Waddell offered him and other pacers at an online sale a few years ago when Ross decided to quit breeding,” explained Anderson.
“I paid $12,000 for the weanling, which was good considering that the service fee for American Ideal was much more than that. Now Elwaddell has earned $129,201 from eleven wins and 18 placings from 79 starts. And he has earned another $25 to $30,000 in bonus payments.”
Anderson prepared Elwaddell for his eight starts as a two-year-old in 2022 when he won once, recording a slick 1.56.2 over 1684m at Pinjarra. Since then, Harper has trained Elwaddell until his recent injury, and Anderson has given the horse three starts in July for an eighth, a third and Friday night’s win.
“He came to me fit and in really good condition,” said Anderson. “And he will go back to Lindsay when he recovers from his injuries.”
While Hilmore Disco won only three races, her mother Dalmore Disco was successful on the racetrack, having had 61 starts for 12 wins, 19 placings and $101,782. Dalmore Disco’s younger half-brother Johnny Disco was a smart performer who earned $281,844 from 17 wins and 16 placings from 60 starts.
In July 2015 Johnny Disco won the Group 1 Westbred Classic for two-year-old colts and geldings, and his wins the following season included the Group 2 Caduceus Club Classic, beating Questionable Gesture, and the Group 3 Country Derby at Pinjarra.
Maximum Rock Is Getting Tougher
Star Pinjarra trainer-reinsman Chris Voak has always had reservations about Maximum Rock and his character to fight hard in his races.
But Voak is changing his opinion and is looking forward to the WA-bred five-year-old being competitive in rich feature events in the summer.
Maximum Rock, a $6.20 chance from out wide at barrier No. 7, revealed improved strength when he scored a fighting victory in the $25,000 Cash Converters Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Voak sent Maximum Rock forward after the gelding had settled down in seventh position and he raced in the breeze outside the $1.85 favourite Captainshavtime for two circuit before digging deep in the home straight to get up in the final couple of strides to beat the pacemaker by a neck, rating 1.56.2 after final quarters of 28.6sec. and 28.5sec.
“I didn’t think he was able to do what he has been doing lately,” said an admiring Voak. “He has definitely stepped up and has got tougher.
“I went to slot in early, but we were unable to get that position (in the one-wide line) and I decided against going back. This was a drop-in class to some degree, and he has been running some fourths and fifths in Free-For-Alls from bad draws.
“He is essentially a sit and sprint horse, and for him to run the time he did tonight was good. He is a quirky horse and generally if he is not on, he will start to lug out and drop the bit about the 600m.
“But tonight he was the opposite, and he actually tried to get on terms with the leader. When he is switched on, he shows he is ready for a dog fight. And you saw that in the final 50 metres tonight. If the wrong horse turns up, he gets beaten.
“It is very much a mental attitude with him. His past seven or eight runs have been very good. We do little things with him at home to keep his head guessing.
“Coming into the summer carnival I might see if I can turn into a Sangue Reale type with a soft trip on the fence and be prominent in the better races.”
Despite his perceived shortcomings Maximum Rock has won six metro-class events and has earned $171,262 from 12 wins and 19 placings from 63 starts.
Aiden De Campo and Dylan Egerton-Green landed doubles at Friday night’s meeting, with De Campo scoring with the Glenn Elliott-trained eight-year-old Twobob Cracker and his own nomination, Captain Said So.
Twobob Cracker ($11) enjoyed an ideal passage in the one-out, one-back position before finishing strongly to get up and beat the pacemaker Lady Camel ($6) in the 2536m Marmion Street Fresh and Gourmet Westbred Pace.
Four-year-old Captain Said So ($1.50 favourite) began from the outside barrier (No. 9) on the front line and burst to the front after 700m before beating the early leader Spudmeister ($4.20) by more than two lengths.
Egerton-Green trained and drove A Precious Gem ($7.80) and Im Lightning Banner ($1.50) for their wins. A Precious Gem led for the first 500m and then trailed the pacemaker Im Category Five ($4) in the 2130m End Polio Pace for three-year-old fillies before getting clear 110m from the post to go on and win from the fast-finishing El Raes Girl and Im Category Five.
Im Lightning Banner outclassed his rivals in the 2130m Cleversure Smart Insurance Pace and looks set for many more victories.
Kylah Madden drove $2.60 favourite Art Ideal, trained by Phil Henwood, to an all-the-way win in the Rotary Club of Fremantle Pace, and Rakero Raider ($3.50), trained by Craig Saligari and driven confidently by Liam Elliott, relished his frontrunning role when he scored an easy victory over Call To Arms ($41) in the 1730m ARG Pace.
