Gloucester Park preview

Wainui Creek can turn the tables

Talented five-year-old Wainui Creek’s prospects of winning the Cowden Limited Norms Daughter Classic for the second year in a row were boosted when she drew the coveted No. 1 barrier in the $50,000 group 2 feature 2130m event for mares at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

She gave an outstanding performance three weeks ago when she began from the outside barrier (No. 8) in a 2130m event and finished a splendid second to the brilliant Savvy Bromac, who was sixth at the 250m mark before flying home to beat her rival by a half-neck.

Wainui Creek was restrained at the start and settled at the rear before Ryan Warwick dashed her forward, three wide, after 500m to move to the breeze after a lap. She led by a half-length from the pacemaker Sheez Our Hope with 1150m to travel but remained in the breeze until taking the lead with 400m to travel.

She led by two lengths at the 100m mark before being overhauled in the final couple of strides by Savvy Bromac, who had raced in fifth place, three back on the pegs.

Savvy Bromac, who will again be handled by Emily Suvaljko, is awkwardly drawn out wide at barrier eight this week, and Wainui Creek, from the inside barrier, has a significant advantage over her rivals and the ability to turn the tables on Savvy Bromac.

Wainui Creek gave a fine performance to win the Norms Daughter Classic 12 months ago when she started from barrier five, raced in the breeze for the first 500m and then enjoyed an ideal passage, one-out and one-back, before finishing strongly to win by a length from her stablemate and pacemaker Our Alfie Romeo.

Wainui Creek, prepared by leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond, is a smart frontrunner who led from barrier two four starts ago and won comfortably from Star Of Diamonds. Warwick will be anxious to employ similar tactics on Friday night.

Wainui Creek, a winner of six races in New Zealand, has had 18 starts in Western Australia for eight wins and three placings, including a notable success in the group 2 Empress Stakes in March this year.

Trainer Nathan Turvey is delighted with Savvy Bromac’s fast-finishing victories over 2130m at her past two starts, and he said after her half-neck win over the pacemaker Alta Cinderella last Friday night that his mare was spot on for Friday night’s event and the $125,000 Westral Mares Classic over 2536m a fortnight later.

“I think we have a bit more up our sleeves,” he said while admitting he had great respect for the Ross Olivieri-trained Born To Boogie, who will start from the inside of the back line and will be driven by Chris Lewis.

Born To Boogie, whose past nine starts have produced six wins and three close-up seconds, is in dazzling form. She is extremely versatile, leading from barrier one and winning easily from Im Soxy and Mirragon last Friday week, after starting from the No. 8 barrier at her previous outing and sustaining a powerful burst from eleventh at the 950m to win by three lengths from Typhoon Banner.

Gary Hall snr has two runners, Alta Cinderella (barrier No. 2) and Balcatherine (No. 3), with Gary Hall jnr giving punters a strong lead by choosing to drive the five-year-old Balcatherine, who will be resuming after a spell.

Balcatherine, a winner at ten of her 24 starts, has not appeared since she had a tough run and finished second to Fifty Five Reborn 19 weeks ago. However, Hall snr is confident she will prove hard to beat, saying: “She is the best mare in the State and is a great first-up chance.

“Her work has been good, she has more artillery than the others, and she has been competitive in Free-For-Alls. I’m hoping she can win the Norms Daughter Classic and the Mares Classic.”

Hall is a master of producing his pacers in excellent shape for their first-up assignments, and Balcatherine showed her class with a stylish first-up victory at a 1.55.1 rate over 2130m in late October last year before she finished fifth behind Wainui Creek in the Norms Daughter Classic at her next outing.

Balcatherine, who went on to win the Mares Classic last year, is handily drawn at barrier three in Friday night’s race. Alta Cinderella (who will be driven by Callan Suvaljko) has won at nine of her 16 starts. She worked hard for the first 300m before taking the lead in a 2130m event last Friday night when she was swamped in the final stages by Savvy Bromac.

Trial points to Papinik

Inexperienced WA-bred five-year-old Papinik possesses scintillating point-to-point speed, and a superb trial at Pinjarra on Thursday of last week showed that he was poised for a successful return to racing after a six-month absence.

Trained by Ross Olivieri and to be driven by Chris Voak, Papinik will start from barrier five in race three, the 2536m Cowden Limited Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night and has the class to prove the master of several in-form pacers, including Euphoria, Manning, Rockaball and Al Guerrero.

In the four-horse trial over 2185m at Pinjarra last week, Papinik was restrained back to last before Voak sent him to the front at the bell — and the Advance Attack gelding careered away from his rivals to win by just under seven lengths from Motu Premier, rating 1.56.3, with a sizzling final 400m in 26.8sec., following quarters of 28sec. and 28.8sec.

Eight days earlier, Papinik was not extended in winning a 2185m trial at Pinjarra when he was last in the field of five with 650m to travel before sprinting home fast with a final quarter of 27.4sec. to win by two lengths from the pacemaker Saleahs Comand.

Four-year-olds Euphoria and Manning are racing keenly and are sure to be prominent. Euphoria, to be driven by Gary Hall jnr from barrier three, maintained his excellent form last Friday night when he trailed the pacemaker Major Martini and fought on solidly to be second to that star pacer. He covered extra ground when a convincing winner a week earlier.

The Justin Prentice-trained Manning is favourably drawn at barrier No. 2, and Maddison Brown is sure to be keen to set the pace with the smart four-year-old. Manning gave a stylish frontrunning performance when he won a 2536m event by just under eight lengths from veteran Dredlock Rockstar.

Brown has high hopes of winning the opening event on the program when she drives another Prentice runner, five-year-old Back In Twenty from the No. 4 barrier.

Back In Twenty drops significantly in class and astute punters will be anxious to support the Sportswriter gelding following his excellent performance last Friday night when he raced in fifth position, three back on the pegs, before finishing powerfully, out four wide, to be a close-up third behind brilliant stablemates Galactic Star and Mighty Conqueror. Back In Twenty covered the final 800m in 56.3sec. and the final 400m in 27.5sec.

If either Galactic Star or Mighty Conqueror was eligible to contest race one on Friday night, they would be at virtually unbackable at odds of $1.04 or even shorter. Back In Twenty will be at a far more attractive quote, and is quite likely to be the second favourite behind Roman Art.

Roman Art, trained at Coolup by Victor Bryers, will be driven by Emily Suvaljko from the No. 2 barrier and is certainly a formidable rival for Back In Twenty.

Roman Art impressed at his fourth run after a spell when he was smartest into stride from the No. 1 barrier in a 2130m event last Friday week. He set a strong pace and was overhauled in the final stride and beaten a half-head by Alta Intrigue.

Hall picks Jumpingjackmac

Champion reinsman Gary Hall jnr has a high opinion of brilliant three-year-olds Jumpingjackmac and Finvarra, and he has given punters a strong tip by choosing to drive Jumpingjackmac in preference to Finvarra in the Cowden Limited, The Insurance Brokers Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

The two young stars are prepared by master trainer Gary Hall snr and they will clash in a race for the first time this week when Finvarra, to be handled by Callan Suvaljko, will start from barrier eight in the 2130m event, with Jumpingjackmac drawn on the outside in the field of nine.

Hall jnr has driven Finvarra in all his nine starts for six wins and two placings. The West Australian-bred colt warmed up for his clash with Jumpingjackmac in fine style when he started from the outside barrier, settled down in last place 50 metres from the leader Know When To Run and was not extended when he burst to the front approaching the home turn and raced away to win by two and a half lengths from stablemate The Ideal Touch last Friday night.

Jumpingjackmac has raced in much stronger company for most of his 13-start career for eight wins and four seconds. He has been beaten in a photo finish by classy four-year-olds at his past two starts, losing by a head to Alta Engen, and by a half-head by Hampton Banner.

His form line reads quite a deal stronger than that of Finvarra, and he should emerge triumphant in his much-anticipated clash with his stablemate on Friday night.

Hall snr and his son will be looking for the stable’s enigmatic, but richly talented New Zealand-bred five-year-old Wildwest to return to the winning list at his second appearance after an eight-month absence when he begins from barrier five in the $25,000 Cowden Limited Pace over 2130m.

Wildwest is sure to have derived considerable benefit from his first-up effort last Friday night when he began from the back mark of 40 metres in a 2503m stand. He settled down a distant last in the field of eight and was seventh at the bell before charging home with a spirited five-wide burst to finish a close-up fifth behind Just Wing It.

Hall jnr, who drove his 200TH winner for the season when Stars N Bars was successful in a 1684m event at Pinjarra on Monday, has been engaged to handle the speedy five-year-old The Kraken from barrier one in the ninth event.

The Kraken, who has a losing sequence of 18, was a $126 outsider when he finished seventh in a field of eight behind Major Martini last Friday night. He started from the outside barrier in a field of eight and raced at the rear on the pegs. He was not suited by the slow early pace and was hampered for room in the final circuit.

The Kraken is a smart frontrunner who will appreciate a drop in class. He looks set to fight out the finish, with his main rival quite likely to emerge as Tyler Brett, who has a losing sequence of 17 and has been unplaced at his past six starts. Tyler Brett will start from the outside barrier (No. 9), but he possesses excellent gate speed and should race in a forward position.

Bramante Steps catches the eye

An encouraging effort by Bramante Steps at Pinjarra on Monday afternoon was a pointer to the two-year-old filly’s winning prospects in the tenth event at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

The Murray Lindau-trained filly is favourably drawn at barrier No. 2 in the field of ten and she appeals as a sound chance against recent winners Free Wheeling, Queeninthecorner, Follow The Ark and Jay Elle.

Bramante Steps will be handled by Dylan Egerton-Green, who was in the sulky when she finished second to Soho Santorini over 2185m at Pinjarra on Monday. She began speedily from barrier four, raced in the breeze for the first 400m and then gained a perfect trail in the one-out, one-back position before being eased three wide 380m from home. She ran home determinedly and covered the final 800m in 57.1sec., with her last 400m in 27.16sec. being the fastest recorded by any runner at the meeting.

Free Wheeling, to be driven by Aldo Cortopassi for part-owner and trainer Craig Abercromby, will have many admirers. She impressed in chalking up her third win from seven starts when she had a tough run in the breeze before racing away from her rivals in the closing stages to win easily from See The World and Artistic Scribe at Gloucester Park on Wednesday of last week.

Queeninthecorner, prepared by Mike Reed, cannot be overlooked. She is unbeaten, having finished strongly to score narrowly at Bunbury on debut, and then gave a bold frontrunning display to win by two lengths from See The World and Freewheeling over 2130m at Gloucester Park last Friday week. She is capable of overcoming the wide draw at barrier eight.

The Justin Prentice-trained Jay Elle has finished strongly to win at two of her four starts, but she will need a bit of luck to overcome the disadvantage of starting from the outside barrier at No. 9.

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

By Ken Casellas for Gloucester Park