It’s Warwick versus Voak

Star reinsmen Ryan Warwick and Chris Voak will continue their titanic struggle for ascendancy when they share the spotlight at the ten-event program at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

Both are desperately keen to win the West Australian drivers’ premiership for the first time in this extended 2019-20 season.

Warwick landed a double with Nikasa and Taroona Bromac at Gloucester Park on Wednesday afternoon and Voak was successful behind Wattabout Rioli as well as driving three second placegetters. Voak heads the premiership table with 236 winners from 1348 drives, with Warwick in second spot with 235 winners from 761 drives.

Warwick has six drives on Friday night and Voak will appear in nine events. Warwick will be particularly keen to succeed with Mighty Conqueror, who has drawn favourably at barrier No. 3 in the Cowden The Insurance Brokers Free-For-All over 2536m, a race which is expected to be dominated by leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond.

Apart from Mighty Conqueror, the Bonds will be represented by Vampiro, The Bird Dance, Galactic Star, Our Jimmy Johnstone and Ocean Ridge.

Vampiro, a freewheeling frontrunner, is ideally suited from the prized No. 1 barrier and Colin Brown is sure to be anxious to lead his rivals on a merry dance. The New Zealand-bred six-year-old should be improved by his last-start effort, his fourth run after a spell, when he set the pace and sprinted over the final 400m in 27.2sec. but was beaten into second place by the Warwick-driven Galactic Star, who finished strongly after enjoying the ideal one-out, one-back trail.

In that event Mighty Conqueror, driven by Dylan Egerton-Green, started from the outside barrier and dashed forward, three wide, in the early stages to work hard in the breeze for the rest of the race. He fought on gamely to finish fourth.

A fortnight earlier, when appearing for the first time since winning the 2936m WA Pacing Cup last January, Mighty Conqueror started from the No. 7 barrier, and after going forward three-wide in the early stages he had a tough run in the breeze and battled on grandly to finish second to the pacemaker Convert Denario over 2130m.

This week Galactic Star will be handled by Egerton-Green, who will need to weave some magic for the outstanding seven-year-old to overcome the outside barrier at No. 9 on the front line in the field of 12.

However, it would be unwise to overlook Galactic Star’s claims because Egerton-Green is in superb form in the sulky. When he landed a double at Pinjarra on Monday after a treble at Narrogin two nights earlier, it gave him 13 winners in the space of 17 days, with Tyler Brett and Feeling Aces both starting at $31, Victory Medal at $16 and Ifeel Sikdarl at $8.50.

Warwick has sound each-way prospects on Friday night with Our Alfie Romeo, Wainui Creek, Taroona Bromac, Misstiano and Flying Mister Ideal.

The best of Voak’s nine drives is Perfect Major in the 2130m Simmonds Steel Pace, in which the Ross Olivieri-trained four-year-old will be strongly favoured to extend his winning sequence to six. From the No. 1 barrier, Perfect Major is poised to set the pace and prove too strong for his rivals.

Voak will also be looking for promising filly Askmeilltellya to bounce back to top form after a disappointing last-start seventh behind Waltzingwithsierra when she started from a wide draw, raced at the rear and was not suited by a moderate early pace and a fast 57.1sec. final 800m.

Askmeilltellya is handily drawn at barrier No. 3 on Friday night and should be prominent against other smart three-year-old fillies Star Fromthepalace, Blue Chip Adda and Fifty Five Reborn.

The Peter Anderson-trained Star Fromthepalace is wonderfully consistent and, with Aldo Cortopassi in the sulky, she looks the likely leader from the No. 1 barrier and will take beating. Aiden de Campo’s Blue Chip Adda also looks set to fight out the finish after starting from barrier two. She ran home powerfully to win from the pacemaker Radiant Amber over 2130m last Friday night.

Ken Casellas