Star fillies to clash

Outstanding fillies Double Expresso and Tiffany Rose should provide one of the highlights at Gloucester Park on Friday night when they clash in the 2130m Retravision.com.au Pace.

The New Zealand-bred Tiffany Rose, trained by Mike Reed and to be handled by Michael Grantham, will start from the outside barrier (No. 9) in a field of nine as she attempts to stretch her winning sequence to six after winning at her first five starts in Western Australia by an average margin of 10.5 metres.

The West Australian-bred Double Expresso, prepared by Ross Olivieri and to be driven by Chris Lewis, will start out wide at barrier eight at her second appearance after an absence of six months. She resumed in the Group 3 Coulson final on New Year’s Eve when pitted against ten older and more experienced mares.

From barrier six, she quickly slotted into the one-out, one-back position and fought on doggedly to be third behind the five-year-old pacemaker Vivere Damore, who dashed over the final 800m in 56.8sec. She was gallant in defeat and should have derived great benefit from the first-up outing.

That was Double Expresso’s first appearance since she set the pace from barrier two and scored a convincing victory over Some Copper Beach in the 2130m $100,000 Group 1 Westbred Classic for two-year-old fillies.

She was most impressive in scoring easy victories at her first five starts in a race before the winning sequence was broken when she finished third behind smart colts Jaspervellabeach and Secret Operation in the Group 2 Champagne Classic late last April.

Double Expresso now has the ideal chance to end Tiffany Rose’s winning sequence of five. Tiffany Rose, who raced eight times in New Zealand as a two-year-old for four seconds, three thirds and one fourth placing, has not been extended in generally modest company in WA. She is a versatile pacer with a sparkling turn of speed. At her most recent appearance, against moderate company over 2190m at Northam on December 21, she was last in a field of 12 at the bell before quickly putting paid to the opposition and winning by almost five lengths from Yankee Boots.

Six of Tiffany Rose and Double Expresso’s seven rivals this week have won races, with the Justin Prentice-trained Suing You winning at four of her eight starts.

Colin Brown trains and drives the promising Farawayeyes, who is sure to be prominent from the No. 3 barrier. She won for the second time from eight starts when she set the pace and held on to score narrowly from smart geldings My Agera and Dissertation over 2130m at Gloucester Park three Mondays ago.  

Brown also has bright prospects in the opening event, the 2130m Retravision 60 Day Price Promise Pace, with speedy four-year-old Its Rock And Roll, whose 26 starts have produced six wins, nine seconds and five thirds.

Its Rock And Roll, who covered a lot of extra ground when a last-start second to Iconic Valor at Gloucester Park, will start from No. 4 barrier on the front line and the sparks are sure to fly in the early stages with speedy beginners La Suleiman and Grinny Vinnie ideally drawn at barriers two and three, respectively

Ken Casellas