Gloucester Park preview

Star reinsman Aldo Cortopassi was delighted with the way Magnificent Storm sprinted over the final 400m in a sparkling 26.8sec. to win a 2150m Byford trial last Sunday morning, and he is planning to set the pace and win the $50,000 Simmonds Steel City of Perth Cup over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

“We’ve got the gate speed to take full advantage of our barrier (No. 3),” he said. “We’ve got a good chance to lead, and at worst we’ll be in the first two or three.”

There promises to be a keen duel for the early lead, with both Chris Voak, the driver of the polemarker Motu Premier, and Gary Hall jnr, the driver of Balcatherine (barrier three) declaring their intentions to press forward strongly at the start in bids to take up the running.

Voak said that the Ross Olivieri-trained Motu Premier was primed to make a bold bid for victory, saying: “He finished strongly when he rated 1.55 to finish third behind Bletchley Park in the RWWA Cup two starts ago before he began from a wide barrier, raced six back on the pegs and finished at the rear behind Hurricane Harley last Friday night.

“We will attempt to set the pace, and if Motu Premier leads and doesn’t finish in the top three I’ll be very disappointed.”

Balcatherine, prepared by Gary Hall snr, has been placed at her past five starts, and Hall jnr said: “I’ll have a look (for the lead) early, and if we get to the front, we will be holding it. I guess she has a slim winning chance but is a good place chance from the draw.”

Ray Williams, who trains Magnificent Storm, a winner at 17 of his first 18 starts in Western Australia after a ninth placing at his only appearance in New Zealand, said: “I’m happy with the draw because it is hard coming into this class, first-up.

“Magnificent Storm has pulled up well after Sunday’s trial. I led him in his work on Monday, jogged him today (Tuesday) and will give him a gallop tomorrow (Wednesday).”

Magnificent Storm took the lead after 80m in Sunday’s trial and enjoyed comfortable quarters of 31.9sec., 29.4sec. and 29.8sec. before dashing over the final 400m in 26.8sec. and winning by a neck at a 1.57.4 rate from three-year-old Machnificent, who ran home strongly.

“He was really sharp, and when I let him down, he really accelerated. There is no horse who can sit-sprint quicker than Machnificent, and he couldn’t get over Magnificent Storm,” said Cortopassi. “His heart rate was a lot better than it was after his previous trial the previous week (when second to The Notorious One).

“The idea on Sunday was to get a nice solid 1200m, and it was. He is quite cagey. He knows when we’re serious and when we’re not. He’ll be a different horse come race day, when he walks on to the track and knows what he needs to do.

“I’ve been watching the Free-For-Alls pretty closely, and I really pricked my ears the way Hurricane Harley went last Friday (when he led and won easily from Minstrel and Wildwest over 2536m). He really scooted, and I thought that if he drew inside of Magnificent Storm, he would be hard to catch. I didn’t want to sit outside of him, trying to run him down.”

Hurricane Harley, who is at his best when he leads, has drawn out wide at barrier seven on Friday night.

Magnificent Storm will be making his first appearance for twelve weeks. He has won first-up at his first three campaigns for Williams.

“He has had only two weeks off since his latest run,” explained Cortopassi. “It’s not that he has had a long spell. He has been deliberately freshened up before the carnival (when his main missions will be the Fremantle Cup and WA Pacing Cup).”

Evergreen nine-year-old and reigning WA Pacing Cup champion Vultan Tin, who led from barrier two and won the City of Perth Cup from El Jacko and Handsandwheels in February 2019, will start from barrier No. 5 at his first start for 16 weeks.

Owner-trainer Phil Costello is happy with his happy with his work but admits the 189-start veteran will need a couple of runs to reach his peak.

“He has had a nice break and has had a long, slow preparation,” said Costello. “He works over three heats of a mile twice a week and will need a couple of runs to harden up before the big Cup races.”

Savvy Bromac, the brilliant all-the-way winner of the 2536m Westral Mares Classic last Friday week, faces a stern test when she begins from the No. 4 barrier.

“It’s not the barrier draw we wanted,” said driver Emily Suvaljko. “Apart from her latest start, we usually drive Savvy Bromac for her speed as a sit-sprinter,” she said. “This will be a good test for her, deciding whether she goes forward to the Pacing Cup. She proved last start that she is good enough to race against the boys.”

Hampton Banner (barrier No. 7), Hurricane Harley (No. 8) and Wildwest (No. 9) are racing in fine form but will need plenty of luck from their wide draws.

Rock Me Over is Suvaljko’s best

Shannon Suvaljko, Western Australia’s leading reinsman in the 1917-18 season and winner of 122 races this season, faces a busy evening at Gloucester Park on Friday night when he will be in action in all ten events.

“I reckon I’ve got a lot of good drives, and I think that my best chances are in the first two races, with Medieval Man in the first and Rock Me Over in the second,” he said.

“Rock Me Over (trained by Matt Scott) is my best drive. He has been racing in Free-For-Alls this season and has dropped down in grade a couple of times. He likes running along, and I can see him running a big race.”

Rock Me Over is a nine-year-old veteran of 145 starts for 22 wins and 49 placings. And he has bright prospects of ending a losing sequence of 15, stretching back to last April.

He will start from barrier three on Friday night and Suvaljkjo will be aiming to win the start and then dictate terms in front.

Rock Me Over began from barrier six in a 2536m event last Friday night when he worked hard for the first 700m before getting to the front. He wilted in the home straight and finished second to rank outsider Disco Under Fire.

Rock Me Over’s main rival looms as the former Victorian performer Rupert Of Lincoln, who is trained by Ross Olivieri and will be driven by Chris Voak from out wide at barrier eight.

Rupert Of Lincoln made an encouraging WA debut in a 2130m event last Friday night when he began from the No. 1 barrier, was beaten for early speed, raced three back on the pegs and did not get clear until the closing stages, when he finished strongly to be third behind Rockaball and Joe With The Flow.

“He never got the chance to be wound up,” said trainer Ross Olivieri. “He should be improved by the run and is a each-way chance.”

Chris Voak said he was looking forwards to driving Rupert Of Lincoln, saying: “He didn’t show much gate speed last week, but he’s got some strength. At his best, he will run a mighty race. He is a good chance and I think he is stronger than he is fast.”

Nathan Turvey’s The White Rabbit also will have admirers. He will be driven by Emily Suvaljko from the No. 2 barrier on the back line. He led when a winner two starts ago, and then ran home solidly to finish third behind Mirragon and Alice Kay.

“It will be tricky where he ends up,” said Suvaljko. “If he had drawn to lead, he probably would’ve just led and won. There looks to be plenty of early speed from the one, two and three runners, and I should be able to put The White Rabbit into the race at some stage.”

Medieval Man will be having his first start for seven weeks when he begins from barrier two in the second event on the program, and Shannon Suvaljko said he was sure to prove hard to beat.

“He is working well, and Kiara (trainer Kiara Davies) said that he has come back better than he has ever done,” said Suvaljko. “He is really quick off the arm, and I expect he will be able to hold Thereugo.”

Thereugo, a noted speedy beginner, will start from the No. 6 barrier and Lindsay Harper is expected to use the veteran gelding’s early speed to advantage.

Polemarker Blue Blazer and Alta Rhett (barrier three) are in good form and cannot be underestimated, while Double Expresso, drawn out wide at barrier nine, is capable of causing an upset.

No. 1 suits Carrera Mach

New Zealand-bred six-year-old Carrera Mach has set the pace and been successful at five of his twelve wins, and trainer Ross Olivieri and driver Chris Voak are looking to employ frontrunning tactics with the gelding who is favourably drawn at barrier No. 1 in the 2536m Vale Percy Johnson Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

Carrera Mach resumed after a spell four weeks ago when he started from the back line and raced three back on the pegs before finishing solidly to be fifth behind stablemate Papinik over 2536m.

“He has good tradesman-like gate speed, and he can hold up,” said a confident Olivieri. Voak agreed and said: “He likes to lead and is a good each-way hope.”

Four-year-olds Manning and Mirragon as well as eight-year-old Im Soxy loom as Carrera Mach’s main rivals.

Manning, to be driven by Maddison Brown for trainer Justin Prentice, is wonderfully consistent and is sure to fight out the finish after starting from barrier four. Manning came home with a sparkling late burst when second to Al Guerrero over 2130m last Friday night. His followed an all-the-way win and placings behind Papinik and Fanci a Dance.

Mirragon generally runs his best races when he leads, and he will need a touch of luck from out wide at barrier seven, while Im Soxy, trained in Bunbury by Brian Clemens and to be handled by Ryan Warwick, is sure to appreciate a favourable draw at barrier No. 2 as well as a drop in class.

Olivieri and Voak should combine to win the 2130m Etch Coatings Mobile Sandblasting And Painting Pace with the brilliant Papinik, who should lead and prove too good for his four rivals.

Arma Indie looks a big chance

New Zealand-bred Arma Indie has been unplaced at her past nine starts but looks to have excellent prospects of winning the 2130m Etch Coatings Commercial Spray Painting Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

She has been racing in considerably stronger company and she is sure to appreciate a drop in class as well as the distinct advantage of starting from the prized No. 1 barrier.

The five-year-old, who is in foal, will be driven by Mark Reed and trained by his father Mike, who says that she has sufficient gate speed to lead from the inside barrier.

Among her rivals is ten-year-old A Boy Named Rosie, who will be driven by Shannon Suvaljko for trainer Craig Hynam. The oldstager, a veteran of 164 starts, has managed just two placings from his past 24 starts. But he showed promise of better things to come when he ran home solidly from ninth at the bell to finish fifth behind Has No Fear last Friday night. He will start from the No. 3 barrier.

“That was a good first-up run, and this is not a particularly strong field,” said Suvaljko.

Suvaljko also likes his chances with the Michael Young-trained Beat City in the The Trots WA, Harness The Dream Pace in which the four-year-old is awkwardly drawn at barrier six.

“Beat City’s win at Narrogin on Tuesday of last week was good and the 2536m will not bother him,” he said.

Beat City, the backmarker off 50m in the 2662m even at Narrogin, was last in the field of ten with 900m to travel, and he impressed when he started a three-wide burst at the 600m on his way to scoring an easy three-length victory over the pacemaker Lap Of Honour.

Suvaljko also will have many admirers when he drives Alice Kay in the seventh event and Queeninthecorner in the final race.

“Alice Kay is back to mares’ company and she should run a good race,” said Suvaljko. “Queeninthecorner (unbeaten in three starts for trainer Mike Reed) goes good and will run a good race despite starting from the outside in the field eight.”

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

By Ken Casellas for Gloucester Park