Voak likes Yes Hes A Ladies Man

Leading reinsman Chris Voak has seven drives at Gloucester Park on Thursday night, and he is particularly bullish about the prospects of Yes Hes A Ladies Man, who will start on the front line in the Book Your Tickets To NYE At GP Online Handicap, a 2096m standing-start harness racing event.

“I think he can win; he went really good last Friday night,” he said. Yes Hes A Ladies Man, prepared by Michael Young, galloped at the start in a stand last Friday night and was tenth at the bell before unwinding a powerful finishing burst to be fifth behind Triroyale Brigade.

“At the start last week I got left out there, three wide, and he put in a little bubble when I chased him a bit,” Voak said. “It was probably a driver error more than the horse’s fault. He used petrol tickets early and had to go back to last. Then he tracked up three wide and still had some petrol at the finish. They ran home in fast time and he was very impressive.

“He has improved with every run, and I think there is further improvement in him.”

Yes Hes A Ladies Man set the pace and won by more than three lengths from Kilowatt Kid in a 2631m stand at Pinjarra two starts ago, and he made most of the running when he won from Bettorgrinanbarit in a 2116m stand at Pinjarra two starts before that.

Lawrence and Triroyale Brigade loom large as Yes Hes A Ladies Man’s chief rivals on Thursday night. Lawrence, to be handled by Dylan Egerton-Green for leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond, raced roughly early and then worked hard in the breeze when a fighting second to Triroyale Brigade last week. That followed an easy win at Narrogin and a solid second to Diego at Gloucester Park at his first two appearances in Western Australia.

Triroyale Brigade, a New Zealand-bred five-year-old trained and driven by Robbie Williams, is in peak form and commands great respect from the 10m line. He gave a bold frontrunning display to win last Friday night when he sped over the final 800m in 56.6sec.

One of the most interesting clashes on the program looks set to be the duel between top-flight mare Balcatherine and the up-and-coming Vivere Damore in the Christmas Belles Pace over 2130m.

The four-year-old New Zealand-bred Balcatherine, prepared by Gary Hall Snr and to be driven by his son Gary Jnr, drops considerably in class and should prove extremely hard to beat, even from the awkward barrier draw at No. 7.

Balcatherine was eighth at the bell before surging home, out five wide, to finish an excellent fourth behind Mighty Conqueror, Vampiro and Argyle Red in the 2130m Group 2 Lord Mayor’s Cup last Friday week. She raced in the breeze before scoring a devastating victory in the group 1 $125,000 Westral Mares Classic at her previous start.

Vivere Damore, prepared by Peter Tilkbrook and to be driven by Shannon Suvaljko, has struck top form with stylish victories on the past two Friday nights. She will start from the No. 4 barrier and Suvaljko is sure to be anxious for her to get her away speedily and to settle in front of Balcatherine.

Ken Casellas