Sorridere the cause for smiles after 4YO Classic win

It was a bittersweet result for the harness racing connections of Sorridere, with the son of Sunshine Beach claiming the $35,000 APG Pinjarra 4YO Classic on Monday for trainer Aiden De Campo.

De Campo was confident he could lead all the way from barrier one in the feature at Pinjarra, with owner Rob Tomlinson hopeful they’ve done enough to secure their spot in the Gr1 Golden Nugget on December 13.

“Aiden was confident the horse would hold up, and he was very happy with the horse, he said he wasn’t flat out, so he will benefit from that run, it was only his second run back.”

Making it three in a row, Sorridere gave the Oz West Pacing, Damien Keating and Pete Morris ownership group the lift they needed after sadly losing broodmare Smile With Me NZ the day earlier.

SORRIDERE REPLAY

“She had a little colt, which happily enough we’ve found a foster mum and that seems to be going really good at the moment.”

The foal born on Saturday, November 2 is by Pebble Beach and by all reports is doing well with his new foster mum.

Oz-West Pacing purchased To Fast To Serious at the 2017 Perth Yearling Sales and around six months later secured the purchase of Smile With Me who foaled Sorridere in 2019, but the mare had been extremely unlucky over the years, losing two colts, but Tomlinson is very thankful to have a yearling filly by Always B Miki USA who is due to head to the breakers shortly.

It’s all positive news for 2023 WA Pacing Cup winner Magnificent Storm NZ who is currently home at the Tomlinson’s property in West Pinjarra, with Rob Tomlinson excited to see him go back into work in the coming weeks.

“He’s at home and everything looks fantastic, and he will go back to Rays (Williams) Tuesday week.”

Magnificent Storm NZ suffered a setback before the 2024 Nullarbor when he was struck down with a nasty knee infection which saw the star pacer spend many months in the care of Trevor Lindsay at Larkhill Vets.

Speaking with Adam Hamilton back in March this year, Tomlinson made mention that the gelding had been back on the operating table twice to flush the knee.

Magnificent Storm NZ hasn’t been seen since December 8, 2023, when he took out the Gr3 Village Kid, driven by Dylan Egerton-Green.

They will be taking the ‘no pressure’ approach with the rising eight-year-old who will resume work for Mount Helena based Ray Williams.

“We will just get him back first, no plans, he has to hold up under pressure, everything looks good now, doing normal stuff,

“We will just go in with no pressure on him or anyone else, just get him back racing and then make an assessment from there.”

For complete race results, click here.

by Ashleigh Paikos, for RWWA