Prentice hoping to claim rare Cup double

Fresh from training his first Retravision-Fremantle Cup harness racing winner, Justin Prentice has already turned his attention to Friday week’s TABtouch-WA Pacing Cup (2936m) at Gloucester Park.

Mighty Ronaldo (Alta Christiano) scored an upset win in Friday’s $300,000 feature, defeating defending champion Minstrel by a head.

It was the five-year-old’s third Group 1 win, adding to his success in the 2020 Golden Slipper and 2021 WA Derby.

Mighty Ronaldo will be out to become the first horse since Chicago Bull in 2017 to win the Fremantle Cup and WA Pacing Cup in the same year.

Prentice said he expected another bold showing from Mighty Ronaldo in the Pacing Cup.

“I really think that the 2900 will really suit him down to the ground,” Prentice told TABradio.

“The way he recovers after races like that is quite unbelievable.

“It’s confirmed what we always thought that he’s not a big horse, but he’s got a huge lung capacity and a big heart.

“Obviously he needs luck in running and if he gets that he can be right there and make his presence felt.”

Mighty Ronaldo scraped into the Fremantle Cup field off the back of his third in the J.P. Stratton Cup (2130m) a week earlier.

Prentice said he was prepared for the gelding to miss out on a Fremantle Cup start, despite the encouraging performance in the J.P. Stratton Cup.

“All we did was hope,” he said.

“We thought we’re at least an emergency, which gives us a chance of getting in and if not, at least it means we’re close to getting in the Pacing Cup.

“We really hoped that it was enough to get him in but we weren’t quite sure.”

Meanwhile, up to three Fremantle Cup runners could feature in this week’s Free-For-All at Gloucester Park.

Lavra Joe, Prince Of Pleasure and Wildwest are among 15 nominations for this week’s $30,000 event.

Friday night’s Retravision Half Yearly Clearance Pace winner Mighty Conqueror is also nominated for the event, as he looks to press his claims for a Pacing Cup start.

by Tim Walker, for RWWA