Im Quite American impresses

The Geoff Smith stable has been going great guns in recent weeks, and that trend continued in Devonport on Friday evening with the trainer notching up a double on the seven-race program.

Four-year-old American Ideal gelding Im Quite American provided the first leg of Smith’s double when scoring in a rating 50 to 54 mobile event.

Hannah Van Dongen drove Im Quite American, the pacer was having his first start since being purchased from New South Wales and only arrived in the Smith stable two weeks ago.

From barrier six on the tight Devonport track, the pacer didn’t have the best of runs, after being caught three-wide for just over a lap before ending up well back in the field, before flying home out five-wide to score by 1.3 metres in a mile rate of 2m 4.5s on a track that was clearly rain-affected given the times on the program.

“He pulled very hard and sat three-wide early and then he had to go back to last and he still flew home,” Smith said about the win.
“The bloke I bought him from rang me up after the race to congratulate me, and he couldn’t believe the run,” added Smith.

“He is only a little horse, when he arrived here I thought I bought a shetland pony, but I’m really pleased I have got him, and he was only a cheap one too,” said Smith about the pacer, and there is no doubt on the performance of his first-up win the gelding should pick up a few more races yet.

Smith prepared six-year-old gelding Laid Back Kenny to his sixth win of the season later in the night, and the trainer was confident heading into the rating 60 to 64 rated event.

“I thought he could win, he is going better every start of late, Lord Stark got away from him in Launceston last week and then he got held up before running home well for fourth,” Smith said.

Settling well back in the field from outside of the second-row, the race appeared like it was going to suit the front markers given the slow early tempo of the race, but driver Mark Yole was able to get a nice three-wide cart-up into the race over the final 1000 metres, before scoring by 2.5 metres over the leader and race favourite Betterbsweet.

The win was one of three on the night for driver Mark Yole who scored on Little Cessna ($23) and Pink Ponder ($6.60) later in the night to give the driver his 50th win of the season, making him the sixth driver to achieve the feat during the extended season.

Pink Ponder is trained by the states leading trainer Ben Yole, who also prepared Proficient ($3.70) to victory earlier in the night, with Hannah Van Dongen gaining the late call-up, to replace Taylor Ford who was indisposed, to also register a double on the card.

Ben Yole’s training double saw him notch up his 850th career training win

Duncan Dornauf for Tasracing