Massive upset in $50,000 Group 2

A daring drive by Aiden De Campo paid handsome dividends when he drove $63.90 tote outsider Sovrana (Betting Line) to an upset victory in harness racing’s $50,000 Group 2 Ride For Ahlia Daintys Daughter Classic at Gloucester Park on Friday night (Sep. 23).

Sovrana, drawn out wide at barrier seven, began brilliantly and burst to the front 20 metres after the start, leaving the $1.08 favourite and polemarker Wonderful To Fly floundering in her wake.

The 30-year-old De Campo revealed that his was a premeditated plan, saying: “When the favourite draws one and there are a few horses expected to go back (at the start) you can get a good slingshot from out wide and catch them by surprise.

“That was the plan. I thought it was about 50-50 getting across, so we took the chance to get to the front.”

After Sovrana had stormed to the front De Campo restrained the filly and surrendered the lead to the $20 chance In The Spotlight. Shane Young immediately eased Wonderful To Fly off the pegs and into the breeze, and after a 37sec. lead time and an opening quarter of 31.1sec. the next two 400m sections were run up-tempo in 28.6sec. and 27.6sec.

Approaching the home turn, In The Spotlight was travelling well, and Sovrana was hopelessly hemmed in on the pegs. But Wonderful To Fly began to weaken and De Campo was able to get Sovrana into the clear 130m from the post — and the filly sprinted strongly to get up and beat In The Spotlight by a neck, rating 1.56.7 over the 2130m, with Wonderful To Fly dropping back to finish last in the field of 12.

De Campo said that he elected to hand up the early lead to In The Spotlight because Sovrana was not a genuine horse in front. “She is a better follower, and a couple of times she has been beaten when she has led,” he explained.

“Originally, I thought that Shane (Young) might have popped off my back, and I would have been happy then to take the trail behind Wonderful To Fly. But it was Ryan (Warwick) who went forward with In The Spotlight. This worked out good for me.

“They went to war, and I had the last shot. I was lucky that Wonderful To Fly stopped quickly, and Ryan kicked at the same time, and I was lucky to get through.”

SOVRANA REPLAY

Sovrana, a big filly bred by Steve Johnson, is owned by Rob Tomlinson’s Oz-West Pacing, Damian Keating and Peter Morris. She was purchased for $30,000 at the 2020 APG Perth yearling sale. She now has had 21 starts for seven wins, seven placings and $103,905 in prizemoney.

Sovrana is the seventh foal out of the Northern Luck mare Chemical Romance, who was retired after three unplaced efforts as a two-year-old in 2009. Sovrana certainly has inherited much of the brilliance of her maternal granddam Ferrari Trunkey, a brilliant pacer who earned $267,845 from 22 wins and seven placings from 39 starts.

Sovrana is a half-sister to Bettor Reward (61 starts for 15 wins, 11 placings and $244,065) and Destined To Rule (176 starts for 14 wins, 62 placings and $216,109).

De Campo said that he planned to give Sovrana one more start before contesting the $150,000 WA Oaks in three weeks (on October 14).

Shane Young naturally was disappointed at Wonderful To Fly’s failure, coming after she had won at her ten previous starts. “Nothing indicated that she would run poorly,” he said. “Horses are not robots. She seemed okay, but her heart rate was up after the race. We will have to wait a couple of days to see how she pulls up.”

For complete race results, click here.

by Ken Casellas, for Gloucester Park