Gloucester Park preview

Gloucester Park harness racing preview with Ken Casellas

Street Hawk has the class

Four-year-old Street Hawk (Bettor’s Delight) is the least experienced runner in the $30,000 Warwick Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night when he looks set to prove too brilliant for his eleven rivals.

He will start from the No. 4 barrier and Deni Roberts will have many options at her disposal. She is likely to take advantage of his excellent gate speed.

Roberts, who is in brilliant form in the sulky, was excited at Street Hawk’s effortless all-the-way victory at a 1.57.2 rate over 2130m last Friday week when he was reappearing after a three-month absence, with his success improving his record to eight wins and two placings from 15 starts. He has raced nine times in Western Australia for leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond for six wins and a third.

“He’s special and has that brilliant turn of foot which is going to take him a long way,” she said.

Street Hawk’s most serious rival looms large as the Graham Cummins-trained five-year-old Ifeel Sikdarl, a pacer Roberts drove in three unplaced runs for the Bond stable earlier in his career.

Ifeel Sikarl, to be handled by Maddison Brown, is in fine form. He raced in the breeze when a fighting second to Vulcan Star last Friday night. This followed stout-hearted winning efforts at Gloucester Park at his two previous outings.

Mister Montblanc, trained by Annie Belton and to be driven by Chris Lewis, will start from the inside of the back line and is capable of a bold effort. He has won at five of his past nine starts.

Wanneroo trainer Debbie Padberg’s veteran performer Deeorse should also be prominent from the No. 1 barrier, with star reinsman Shannon Suvaljko saying: “He ran home well when fourth behind Dont Bother Me None last Friday night. This is a lovely draw for him. He has good gate speed and there’s plenty of gate speed outside of him.

“So, I’ll just drive him how he feels. We will probably take a sit, but I’d want to be behind the leader and not three back (on the pegs).”

The Bond camp and Roberts have excellent prospects in the $30,000 Remembering Diver Hughes Pace in which Roberts will handle Minstrel, who will start out wide at barrier seven in the eight-horse field when making his first appearance since finishing seventh behind Diego in the WA Pacing Cup four weeks ago.

Minstrel, a winner of 16 races and $605,498, will clash with stablemates Glenledi Chief (Gary Hall jnr.) and Vampiro (Kyle Symington).

Minstrel put up a splendid performance two starts ago when he raced without cover for much of the way and finished a head second to Mighty Ronaldo in the Fremantle Cup.

Glenledi Chief is in career-best form with his past ten starts producing five wins, three seconds, one third and one fifth placing. He has performed brilliantly in recent starts after working in the breeze, and he is likely to be in that position on the outside of the expected pacemaker Hampton Banner.

Hampton Banner set a fast pace and fought on determinedly when a neck second to Glenledi Chief in the 2130m Lord Mayor’s Cup last Friday night. Jocelyn Young should have little difficulty in sending Hampton Banner to the front from barrier three.

Twobob Cracker is Suvaljko’s best

WA-bred five-year-old Twobob Cracker (Art Major) has a losing sequence of 15, but star reinsman Shannon Suvaljko did not hesitate when declaring the Art Major gelding is his best winning chance at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

Twobob Cracker, part-owned and trained by Glenn Elliott, will start from the No. 1 barrier in the Celebrating Jimmy Glennie’s 60TH Pace, a mobile event over the 1730m sprint trip, and Suvaljko is planning an all-the-way victory with the pacer whose past eight wins have been in standing-start races.

“He has huge gate and should be able to lead and hold out fast beginner Valbonne from barrier seven,” said Suvaljko. “I don’t think he will get beaten. Overlook his last-start eighth (behind Talks Up a Storm last Friday night) when he got caught in the breeze.

“At his previous start he came from near the rear to finish third (behind Know When To Run). He is a good rolling horse who loves the mile.”

Suvaljko, who is leading the 2023 trainers’ premiership table with 33 winners, also fancies Ragazzo Mach (race three) and suggests that Onesmartfella (race two), Cabsav (race eight) and Acoltnamedsu (race nine) have each-way prospects.

Another driver who is sure to be popular with punters is Deni Roberts, whose best winning prospects are expected to be Steel The Show (race two), Minstrel (race four), Street Hawk (race five) and Dont Bother Me None (race six).

The New Zealand-bred Steel The Show will be strongly fancied from barrier No. 3 in the 1730m Brett de Campo Pace, following his effortless victory at his Australian debut when he sped to the front from barrier five and sprinted over the final 800m in 56.3sec.to beat Mister Ardee by two lengths at a 1.57.4 rate over 2130m.

That performance followed his previous outing, two months earlier, when he ran on determinedly to finish second to the dual New Zealand Cup winner Copy That (a winner of 31 races and $1.5 million in prizemoney) in a 1609m event at Alexandra Park.

Dont Bother Me None will start from barrier four in the 2130m Remembering Blake Live For Me Pace in which he will be tested by the speedy frontrunning pacer Pradason, who led and won from James Butt over 2130m two starts ago before leading and wilting to fifth behind Valentine Brook over 2130m last Friday night.

Dont Bother Me None returned to form last week when he raced wide early (from barrier five) and then in the breeze before taking the lead 400m from home and winning by just under five lengths from My Prayer at a 1.55.8 rate over 2130m, with final quarters of 28.6sec. and 28.3sec.

Williams declares his plans

Henley Brook trainer-reinsman Robbie Williams is confident his smart New Zealand-bred six-year-old Ima Fivestar General (Art Major) will make a bold bid for victory when he begins from barrier No. 2 in the 2536m Toni Ditri Memorial Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

The Art Major gelding has finished second at his two appearances since resuming after an absence of nine and a half months, and he will have many admirers in his bid to defeat in-former pacers Ragazzo Mach, Talks Up A Storm, Tenzing Bromac and Aussie Scooter.

“This is definitely a good draw for him,” said Williams. “A fortnight ago when he set the pace he copped a lot of pressure (from Make It Happen overracing badly in the breeze), and this wasn’t ideal for him at his second start after a long break.

“This looks much better this week. It looks like we won’t cop a lot of pressure. Talks Up A Storm (barrier one) looks the leader on paper, and I expect him to lead, and we should be able to get on to his back and obtain a good trip throughout.

“Ima Fivestar General is a much better 2500m horse than a short-course pacer, even though I thought his second-up run was exceptional. He was exhausted after that tough run and was knocked around for three or four days after the race.

“It took him that time to recover, so we backed off on him, and towards the end of the week he picked up, and he has worked good since.”

Ragazzo Mach, a winner at eleven of his 33 starts, is sure to make a bold bid for victory at is first outing for five weeks — since he failed to show up from barrier six and finished a disappointing seventh behind Sangue Reale in a 2130m Free-For-All.

“Ragazzo Mach is first-up for a couple of weeks and is going good,” said his driver Shannon Suvaljko. “I reckon he is as good as them (his rivals).”

Bettor Get It On Has The Advantage

Bettor Get It On (Bettor’s Delight) is a tough and talented six-year-old whose clash in the Trotsynd Pace with other outstanding mares Nevermindthechaos and The Amber Hare will be a highlight of the nine-event program at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

Star Boyanup trainer Justin Prentice is full of hope that Bettor Get It On’s more favourable barrier (No. 2) will prove a decisive factor in the outcome of the race in which Nevermindthechaos will start from the No. 2 barrier on the back line and The Amber hare will begin from the No. 4 barrier on the front line.

“We’ve got the draw advantage on the two main dangers,” said Prentice. “And we will be looking to keep that advantage. Better Get It On had a good win last start and has come through that good. So, she should run a good race and be hard to beat. I’d love to be able to push our way to the front. But she is also versatile and loves doing it tough.”

Bettor Get It On, to be handled by Emily Suvaljko, impressed when she won the group 3 Laurie Kennedy Pace, rating 1.55.9 in beating the pacemaker Vivere Damore and The Amber Hare last Friday week. Nevermindthechaos was inconvenienced and paced roughly 600m from home before finishing an unlucky sixth.

That win came at Bettor Get It On’s first start since finishing third to the brilliant Eighteen Carat in the $50,000 Christmas Belles on December 23. She had won at her two previous starts, beating Eighteen Carat and Platinum Sparkle earlier in the month.

Outstanding trainer Michael Young is far from downcast at Nevermindthechaos drawn to start from the back line, saying: “I’d rather she had drawn to lead because she is unbeatable when she leads. She hasn’t drawn inside five for her nine starts in this preparation.

“But from barrier eleven she will be close enough on Friday night. She is versatile and deserves to be favourite.”

Nevermindthechaos started from barrier six and settled at the rear in a 2130m event last Friday night before Gary Hall jnr set her alight and she burst to the front after about 600m and went on to score an easy two-length victory over The Amber Hare, who battled on gamely after working hard in the breeze.

Byford trainer Katja Warwick is looking for her diminutive filly Fly To Fame, to be driven by Chris Lewis, to turn the tables on August Moon when the smart three-year-old fillies clash in the $20,250 Mates Stick Together Pace over 2130m — after August Moon beat Fly To Fame by three lengths, rating 1.57.5 over 1730m Last Friday week.

August Moon, trained by Luke Edwards, started from the No. 3 barrier, with Fly To Fame at No. 4. August Moon, driven by Hall, won the start, set the pace and was untroubled to win from Fly To Fame, who had a tough run in the breeze.

“From barrier one I would like Fly To Fame to lead,” said Warwick. “She can come out quick, and with a better barrier this week she can turn the tables on August Moon. It’s not impossible.”

Fly To Fame raced at Northam last Friday night when she began from barrier six, raced wide early and then took the lead before winning from Gliding Star, rating 1.59.8 over 2190m.

The Mike Reed-trained Cabsav, to be driven by Shannon Suvaljko from barrier three, is also capable of a bold showing on Friday night. She has had 20 starts for four wins seven seconds and three thirds.

“Cabsav is racing well and she has drawn inside August Moon,” said Suvaljko. “I’ll have a few options and she will run a strong race.”

For complete race entries, click here.

by Ken Casellas, for Gloucester Park