A Family Tradition
Big filly Nevele Arma is following in the footsteps of her illustrious dam Arma Xpress as she is developing into an outstanding two-year-old pacer for trainer-reinsman Dylan Egerton-Green.
She was an $8.20 chance when she fortuitously gained the perfect one-out, one-back position in the $250,000 Trotsynd Diamond Classic over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night before finishing powerfully to snatch a thrilling last-stride victory.
Nevele Arma is the sixth foal out of Arma Xpress, who was a champion two-year-old 14 years ago when she won the Western Crown Classic, the Sales Classic, the Champagne Classic, the Westbred Classic, the Gold Bracelet and the Golden Slipper before being retired the following season with a record of twelve wins, one second and $279,889 in stakes from 18 starts.
Everything fell into place for Nevele Arma on Friday night after she began from the outside barrier (No. 3) on the back line and settled down in sixth position, one-out and two-back, before unexpectedly gaining the one-out, one-back spot about 450m after the start when Our Robyn Hood veered outwards from the one-out, one-back position and had to be restrained to the rear.
The polemarker All Out Of Aces ($5.50) was setting the pace, with the $2.35 favourite Seaside Serenade working in the breeze. Egerton-Green patiently waited until 220m from home before Switching Nevele Arma three wide.
All Out Of Aces began to hang out under pressure in the home straight, thus giving Im Catastrophic ($6.50) a dream inside run, and a narrow lead with about 60m to travel. Nevele Arma fought on grandly to gain victory by a head, rating 1.58 after final quarters of 27.6sec. and 28.8sec. All Out Of Aces finished third, and Seaside Serenade was fourth.
The Group 1 classic was a triumph for Egerton-Green, who qualified four runners for the event, with Nevele Arma’s stablemates All Out Of Aces finishing third, Some Dancer fifth and Arvannas Wish tenth.
This gave the 33-year-old Egerton-Green his third Group 1 victory as a trainer and his tenth Group 1 success as a reinsman. He has now prepared 380 winners and has driven 1170 winners.
Nevele Arma, who is owned by Jim Currie, was originally trained by Colin Brown, Egerton-Green’s father-in-law who was driven to distraction by one of the filly’s annoying and dangerous habits and decided to send her to Dylan’s Serpentine property.
“I didn’t have a horse float anymore and she kept jumping off the top of my truck and launch herself and lob 20 metres away,” explained Brown.
Egerton-Green said that six months ago there were no plans to race Nevele Arma as a two-year-old because the filly was so big and green. “But then we were fortunate enough that she developed mentally,” he said.
“Her first few runs were full of merit, and she has got better every time she has gone around. I chose to drive her on Friday night ahead of her three stablemates because she is the hardest to drive and is still learning what racing is all about.”
Friday night’s victory gave Egerton Green his second success in the Diamond Classic as a trainer and driver. He won the event in 2022 with Zephyra, who went on to win the Group 1 Westbred Classic for two-year-old fillies that year.
He is now planning a similar program for Nevele Arma, with the $215,000 Westbred Classic due to be run on September 4. After that, the $150,000 Golden Slipper could be an option.
Nevele Arma has earned $156,997 from three wins and two seconds from five starts. Her victory gave Egerton-Green the second leg of a training and driving treble. He won the Free Entry Pace with Captain Stirling and the HTA Access Solutions Pace with Major Miki Whitby.
Captain Stirling reappeared after a 17-week absence when he was the $1.60 favourite from barrier seven. He settled down in eighth place before going forward out three wide after 450m to move to the breeze after a lap and then hit the front approaching the home turn and going on to win by a length from $15 chance and early leader Art Ideal. Atlas The Titan ($8.50) made most of the running and did well to finish third at his first start since late October 2024.
“I’m not happy with his gate speed,” said Egerton-Green. “What he lacks in gate speed he gains in strength. Moving forward, hopefully we can get a bit more out of him out of the gate to gain better positions.
“His main aim will be the big races for four-year-olds later in the year. He has shown he can go good enough against the good one like he did in the Derby last year.”
Captain Stirling, who finished second to Runkle Crunch in the WA Derby last October, has raced 28 times for six wins, ten seconds and two thirds for earnings of $218,085.
Major Miki Whitby also showed that he is sure to develop into a strong candidate for the big events for four-year-olds when he was the $1.20 favourite who outclassed the opposition over 1730m. He burst to the front from barrier four and set a brisk pace before winning by almost five lengths from Lou Lamour ($8), rating 1.55 after final 400m sections of 28.3sec. and 28.6sec.
Hez The Boss Shows His Class
An inclination to race greenly and reinsman Gary Hall’s vision severely impaired behind mud spattered goggles failed to prevent brilliant two-year-old Hez The Boss from running his rivals ragged and scoring an easy victory in the $250,000 Hoist Torque Pearl Classic over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Hall took full advantage of the No. 1 barrier and was able to give Hez The Boss, the $1.20 favourite, a casual task early with a slow lead time of 38.3sec. and modest opening quarters of 31.1sec. and 29.5sec. before the Poster Boy gelding sped over the final 400m sections in 27.8sec. and 28.5sec. and won by three lengths from the $2.75 second fancy Ideal Whisper, who fought on gamely after racing without cover all the way.
This gave Hall his seventh win in the Pearl Classic, and it was Banjup trainer Colin Brown’s second win in the classic after driving Isaiah Artois for trainer David Thompson in 2014.
“Hez the Boss had been working brilliantly leading up to tonight’s race,” said Brown. “He does only what he has to in his races. He has pulled up super, and now I’ll be preparing him for the $215,000 Westbred Classic for colts and geldings on September 4 and the $150,000 Golden Slipper three weeks after that race.”
Hez The Boss, a $100,000 yearling who is raced by Liam O’Connor and Trevor Lindsay, has already earned $245,399 from six wins and a second placing from seven starts.
Unfortunately, Friday night’s classic was marred by a spectacular mishap 320m from home when $126 outsider Ultimate Shot contacted the sulky of $91 chance Bonebuster, with that gelding’s driver Mitch Miller being catapulted high into the air before landing heavily on the track.
Kyle Syminton, the driver of Ultimate Shot, was also dislodged from his sulky. He fell to the track but was able to retain his hold of the reins and prevent the gelding from galloping away.
Symington suffered from general soreness, mainly in the lower back region, while Miller was knocked unconscious and suffered from concussion as well as injuries to his left arm.
Hez The Boss gave Hall the first leg of a driving treble which he completed with wins with Luvbite in the HTA Rent A Gen Handicap and Scooter B in the HTA Setting New Standards In Hoisting Pace.
Hall was driving the Michael Young-trained Luvbite for the first time when the Victorian-bred seven-year-old was the sole backmarker off 40m in the 2503m stand.
Luvbite, the $3.10 favourite, was eighth at the bell with frontmarker Dawson ($4) bowling along in the lead, and Luvbite’s stablemate and last-start winner Stormy Vista ($5.50) racing strongly in the breeze.
Emily Suvaljko sent Stormy Vista to the front on the home turn, with Luvbite moving into fourth place and then finishing determinedly to get up and win in the final stride after the final quarters were run in 27.9ec. and 28.3sec.
Luvbite has been racing in superb form, and his 15 WA starts have produced seven wins and two placings, taking his career record to 162 starts for 20 wins, 59 placings and stakes of $314,459.
Four-year-old Scooter B, trained by Gary Hall Snr, was the $1.10 favourite from the No. 6 barrier, and he was not extended in dashing to the front after 450m, setting the pace and winning easily from his stablemate Raklou ($19) to improve his record to eleven starts for five wins, four placings and $59,873.
This gave Hall Snr the second leg of a double, following the win of $9 chance Alta Tribute, who was rated perfectly in the breeze by Maddison Brown before getting to the front with 475m to travel and going on to win by a neck from stablemate Sweet Pins ($6). Alta Tribute rated a smart 1.54.9 over 2130m and this boosted his earnings to $220,126 from 11 wins and ten placings from 38 starts.
Big Plans For Soho Shakedown
Troublesome hooves have blighted the career of Soho Shakedown, who resumed after a spell in fine style with a smart first-up victory in the $25,00 HTA Reaching For The Top Free-For-All over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The inexperienced four-year-old gave trainer Kim Prentice and reinsman Mitch Miller a double in successive events, following the win of Soho Moonraker in the 2130m HTA Taking You To New Heights Pace.
Miller was delighted with Soho Shakedown’s victory on the comeback trail and said: “For him to come back from basically 12 months off and into Free-For-All company is pretty promising, and hopefully we can keep him fit and happy, with the Golden Nugget (November 6) the main target for him.
“The plan is to race him sparingly, and if we get him there in one piece, he will be a serious contender, which is exciting.
“He is very lightly raced because he has had bad feet. We lost pretty much all of his three-year-old season last year when he lost half of one of his front hooves, and it took six to seven months to grow back. It was a shame because he would have been a Derby horse.
“We tried to build up the foot with putty, and a couple of times we thought he was ready to go to the races, and he would go sore again. He has had really slow growing feet, and this is the first time he has had a full hoof over the past 18 months. He wears bar shoes to stop the hoof from spreading and opening up.”
Soho Shakedown was the $1.90 favourite from the No. 1 barrier on Friday night when he was smartest into stride and set a brisk pace to win by a metre from $7.50 chance Lucca, who fought on gamely after racing without cover. Soho Shakedown rated a smart 1.55.4 after quarters of 29.9sec., 28.8sec., 28.5sec. and 28.9sec. This took Soho Shakedown’s record to eleven starts for eight wins, one second and $70,343.
Thirty-five minutes earlier Soho Moonraker was a $6.80 chance who began out wide at barrier No. 9 and dashed to the front after 400m and sprinted over the final quarters in 28.3sec. and 28.5sec. to win by a half-length from the $1.90 favourite Sweet Coco, rating 1.56.3.
“We chanced our luck off the arm, thinking we could get a spot somewhere, and it all worked out beautifully,” said Miller. “When he is able to lead, he rarely gets beaten even though he flops over the final 50 metres. He has done that a few times and still held on.”
Soho Moonraker, a six-year-old by boom sire Sweet Lou, has been a handy performer for his owner-breeder Rob Watson, earning $125,129 from ten wins and 11 placings from 49 starts.
Watson, who also bred and owns Soho Shakedown, enjoyed a third victory on Friday night when his three-year-old Soho Piastri, trained and driven by Mick Stanley, scored an effortless victory in 1.52.9 over 1609m at Newcastle. The gelding is out of Watson’s Mach Three mare Angel Bromac, who was driven by Prentice in her 14 starts in WA for four wins and five placings in 2016 and 2017 before being retired to the breeding barn.
