Gloucester Park preview

Shannon Suvaljko, the State’s leading harness racing reinsman this year with 65 winners, is bullish about Dardy Boy’s prospects in the $50,000 Team Bond Pearl Classic for three-year-olds at Gloucester Park on Friday night when he aims to set the pace and test the brilliant Swingband.

Dardy Boy, prepared by astute Henley Brook trainer Mike Reed, was the slowest of the three winners of the qualifying heats on Tuesday of last week, recording a gross time of 2min. 38.2sec. over the 2130m, a time considerably slower than the 2min. 34sec. recorded by Swingband.

But with Dardy Boy drawn perfectly at the No. 1 barrier, and with Swingband at No. 2, Suvaljko is planning to lead in a bold bid for victory.

Reed and Suvaljko combined to win a qualifying heat with Hoppys Way in a time of 2min. 37.2sec., but when that colt drew out wide at barrier eight Suvaljko had no hesitation in choosing to drive Dardy Boy.

“Dardy Boy is Shannon’s pick,” said Reed. “He said that Dardy Boy won his qualifying heat easily when he led, and he (Shannon) didn’t pull the plugs. Shannon said that Dardy Boy should lead — and that the others have got to beat him.

“I like Hoppys Way, but from barrier eight he faces a hard task.” Suvaljko has driven Hoppys Way at his past ten starts for four wins and three seconds. The Art Major colt will be driven for the first time on Friday night by Suvaljko’s daughter Emily.

Swingband is the best performed runner in Friday night’s group 2 feature event, having had 14 starts for eight wins and three placings. He will again be driven by Michael Grantham for Baskerville trainer Ryan Bell.

In a qualifying heat Swingband was tardy in the score-up and settled down in fifth position before going forward to race in the breeze, with Soho Santorini setting the pace. Swingband gained the upper hand 400m from home and led by a length at the 200m mark before he held on grimly to beat the strong-finishing Loucid Dreams by a nose, rating a smart 1.56.3.

Bell was satisfied with Swingband’s performance, saying: “Recent hard runs will do him good. His speed and strength are good assets. He only does what he has to. In trackwork he is a shocker; he always lets the other horses go past him. He is still a big baby.”

Soho Santorini, who was having his first start for 43 days, wilted to finish a well-beaten third behind Swingband in the heat. He will start from the No. 3 barrier in Friday night’s final in which he will be driven by Mitch Miller.

Trainer Kim Prentice is happy with Soho Santorini’s progress, saying: “He will definitely improve on his heat run. He has trained on real good, but from barrier three I don’t know where he will end up out of the gate.

“Swingband hasn’t been getting out fast from the gate, so hopefully we can cross him. Dardy Boy will lead, and if we can get across and get a pozzie, hopefully that will put him in the race.”

Paul Edward, who finished a half-length second to Dardy Boy in a heat, is favourably drawn on the inside of the back line and should obtain a perfect passage behind Dardy Boy on Friday night.

Dylan Egerton-Green trains and drives Paul Edward. He drove Loucid Dreams when that gelding finished a short half-head behind Swingband in a heat. Banjup trainer Colin Brown will be in the sulky behind Loucid Dreams on Friday night when the gelding will be tested from his awkward draw at barrier seven.

Harper happy with No. 1 barriers

Bunbury trainer Bob Mellsop and stable driver Kyle Harper cracked the jackpot this week when Apollo Rock and Our Star Watch each drew the coveted No. 1 barrier in their respective events at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

Harper was delighted at the favourable barriers and said that both geldings should be prominent and hard to beat. Both possess good gate speed and have been successful when setting the pace.

Six-year-old Apollo Rock will contest the opening event, the 1730m Minstrel Pace. He reappeared after a two-month absence when he raced three back on the pegs and was hampered for room in the home straight before fighting on along the sprint lane to finish sixth behind Run For Mercy in the helter-skelter 1140m Dash For Cash at Bunbury on Wednesday of last week.

“I think that the mile (1730m) will suit him,” said Harper. “He has strings to his bow. He can lead and sit and sprint. This looks like a race in which he can lead and go very close. He is a very good each-way chance. The Code Breaker will be one to watch, and so, too, will be Middlepage, who is going very well.”

Middlepage, trained and driven by Lindsay Harper, will start from barrier two and is sure to take beating, following his impressive return to form when an easy winner over 2130m last Friday night when he raced without cover for more than 800m before going on to win from the pacemaker Adda Something. He dashed over the final 800m in 56.2sec.

The Code Breaker, trained by Ross Olivieri and to be handled by Chris Voak, is ideally drawn on the inside of the back line. He raced three back on the pegs before finishing strongly to be second to Eldaytona over 2130m last Friday night.

Five-year-old Our Star Watch, who has a losing sequence of nine, will contest the 2130m Money Magnet Pace in which he will clash with several in-form pacers.

Our Star Watch caught the eye in a 2503m strand at Bunbury on Wednesday of last week when he began off the 50m mark and was eighth at the 400m before going five wide on the home turn and running home strongly to finish fourth behind Seeryanfly.

That was his first start for four weeks and he is sure to be improved by the outing.

“He went off the boil a bit, and Bob has worked on him, and he has come back pretty good,” said Harper.  “He gave him a bit of a let-up and then ran him in a standing-start event in Bunbury when his run was very good.

“He gave them a good head start, and he felt like a different horse and back to his best. And if he is close to his best he could be leading and winning on Friday night. He has led and won in town before. He was very smooth in his action at Bunbury, and at his best he is a pretty serious horse.”

Among his rivals this week are last-start winners Arma Einstein and Pierre Whitby, recent winners Heez Our Perseus, Vespa and Alta Rhett, and smart performer Medieval Man, who is favourably drawn at barrier two for his first appearance for 15 weeks.

Vespa makes good appeal. He was sixth at the bell before he charged home out wide to finish powerfully into third place behind Beat City and Ragazzo Mach in a three-way photo finish.

Hall chooses Beat City

Champion reinsman Gary Hall jnr has given punters a valuable tip by choosing to drive Beat City in preference to Jack Farthing in the $23,750 Our Jimmy Johnstone Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

Beat City will start from the No. 5 barrier, and Jack Farthing will begin from barrier six. Hall has stuck with the Michael Young-trained Beat City, who will be aiming to complete a winning hat-trick. Beat City rated 1.56.3 when he narrowly defeated the highly-regarded Ragazzo Mach last Friday night.

“This looks a winnable race for Beat City,” said Young. “In-form horses Jack Farthing and Glenledi Chief have drawn wide, outside of Beat City.”

Hall drove the Justin Prentice-trained Jack Farthing at his second outing after a lengthy absence when the seven-year-old finished solidly from seventh and last at the bell to finish third behind Ideal Agent and Tommy Be Good last Friday week. Michael Grantham has been engaged to drive Jack Farthing, a winner of 18 races, this week.

Ten-year-old Tommy Be Good will start from the prized No. 1 barrier and will be driven by Emily Suvaljko. He has not been successful for 22 months but is capable of a bold showing.

Glenledi Chief, a lightly-raced five-year-old prepared by leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond, will start from the outside in the field of seven. After resuming from a spell Glenledi Chief has impressed with two commanding victories in standing-start events.

The Bonds and Warwick also have excellent prospects with Dont Bother Me None (race four), Booraa (race seven) and Unconditional (race eight).

Dont Bother Me None will start from barrier two in the Allira and Jett Pace, and the lightly-raced New Zealand-bred four-year-old is expected to have a keen duel for the early lead with Texas Tiger (barrier three).

Texas Tiger is a speedy beginner who set the pace when beaten in the final stride by the Bond-trained Double Up in a 2130m event last Friday week. A week earlier, he led and won from To Fast To Serious over 2536m.

Dont Bother Me None is a rising star who has raced only 24 times for 13 wins and five placings. He had a tough run in the breeze when a last-start third behind stablemates Ima Rockabilly Rebel and Booraa at his latest outing.

Boora is awkwardly drawn at barrier six in the Galactic Star Pace, in which Ima Rockabilly Rebel (Deni Roberts) will start from barrier five. They will clash with veteran performer Angel In White, who looks well placed from barrier two for trainer Shane Tognolini and reinsman Shannon Suvaljko.

Angel In White was far from disgraced in the group 2 WASBA Breeders Stakes last Friday night when she raced in the breeze for the first 500m before obtaining a favourable trail in the one-out, one-back position and then being blocked for a clear run until the final 75m — when she finished solidly into fifth place behind Savvy Bromac.

Unconditional, a winner at eight of her 22 starts, will begin from barrier five in the 2130m Anne and Rob Gartrell Pace in which her chief rivals appear to be Miss Boudica and Run For Mercy.

Miss Boudica, trained by Micchael Brennan and driven by Michael Grantham, caught the eye with her fast-finishing sixth behind Savvy Bromac last week, and she has the class to overcome her unfavourable barrier at No. 7.

Run For Mercy, trained by Jemma Hayman, will start from barrier four with Chris Voak in the sulky. The five-year-old unwound a dazzling late burst to get up and win the 1140m Dash For Cash et at Bunbury on Wednesday of last week.

The Tiger Army can turn the tables

Five-year-old gelding The Tiger Army finished third, three and a half lengths behind the second placegetter Tiza New Day in a 2130m event last Friday week, and he will resume hostilities with his six-year-old rival in the final event, the 2536m Ima Rocket Star Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

Tiza New Day, trained by Jason Woodworth and to be driven by Deni Roberts, has the perfect draw at barrier one and is sure to prove hard to beat. However, The Tiger Amy, trained by Nathan Turvey and to be handled by Emily Suvaljko, has sound prospects of turning the tables.

The Tiger Army had a tough run in the breeze before wilting to third behind the speedy Talks Up A Storm and Tiza New Day two weeks ago, while Tiza New Day enjoyed an ideal passage behind the pacemaking Talks Up A Storm and fought on gamely to finish second, with the final 800m being covered in a fast 55.7sec.

This week The Tiger Army is the solitary runner on the back line, leaving Suvaljko the option of taking the trail behind Tiza New Day or easing off the pegs in the early stages and going forward in a bid to obtain a handy position in the one-wide line.

Im Spiderman (barrier four) is a smart beginner and Dylan Egerton-Green could well attempt a concerted bid for the early lead, while Soho Broadway, the only mare in the race, has the ability to return to the winning list.

Soho Broadway, trained by Gary Hall snr and to be driven by Gary Hall jnr, will start from barrier six at her second appearance after a spell. She is sure to derived considerable benefit from her first-up effort last Friday week when she enjoyed an ideal passage in the one-out, one-back position but just battled on into fourth place.

To view the fields for Gloucester Park on Friday click here.

by Ken Casellas, for Gloucester Park