Champion reinsman Gary Hall Jnr had to ponder long and hard before opting to drive Waylade in preference to stablemate Norvic Nightowl in the $23,000 Del Basso Fresh Meats Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
He is not convinced he has made the correct decision, but is full of hope that the five-year-old Waylade will be ready to return to his best form at his third appearance after a spell.
“It was the barrier draw which swayed me,” Hall said. Waylade will start from barrier three, with Norvic Nightowl, to be driven by Justin Prentice, starting from barrier four and the brilliant Clive Dalton-trained Elegant Christian (Clint Hall) at No. 5.
“I thought that Waylade, at one stage of the race, was going to win at each of his two runs since resuming,” Hall said. “But he just didn’t quite get there. However, the times have been really good.”
Waylade, a winner at 14 of his 29 starts, resumed after an absence of four months in a 2130m event last Friday week when he enjoyed an ideal passage, one-out and one-back, before starting a three-wide move 500m from home and running home determinedly to finish second to the pacemaker Elegant Christian, beaten a short half-head, at a 1.54.6 rate.
Then last Friday night Waylade began from barrier five and raced in the one-out, one-back position before finishing determinedly to be a 4m second to his pacemaking stablemate Run Oneover, who rated 1.52.5 over 1730m, with quarters in 27.7sec., 29sec., 27.7sec. and 27.8sec.
Norvic Nightowl trailed Waylade throughout and impressed in finishing boldly from sixth at the bell to be third, just a metre behind Waylade.
Trainer Gary Hall Snr said he was finding it difficult to separate Waylade, Norvic Nightowl and Elegant Christian. “They’re all going super,” he said, adding that Waylade and Norvic Nightowl were well and truly on target to contest the interdominion championship series at Gloucester Park late this year.
The Hall stable also holds a powerful hand in the $23,000 Del Basso In Osborne Park Pace with three of the seven runners in the 2536m event — Run Oneover, Crusader Banner and Mohegan Sun. Mohegan Sun, drawn the No. 1 barrier, faces a tough assignment, but Run Oneover (barrier seven) and Crusader Banner (four) are expected to vie for favouritism ahead of Mighty Flying Thomas (six) and Change Gear (five).
Run Oneover, to be driven by Clint Hall, set a track record for 1730m when he rated 1.52.5 in winning the Members Sprint in convincing style from Waylade and Norvic Nightowl last Friday night. Run Oneover made the most of the No. 1 barrier, but will need to be at his best to overcome the disadvantage of starting from the outside in the field of seven.
“Crusader Banner should lead from barrier four and prove hard to beat,” said Hall Snr.
Mighty Flying Thomas, to be driven by Chris Lewis for Byford trainer Peter Anderson, dashed to an early lead from barrier six, set the pace and won from the fast-finishing Our Jimmy Johnstone at a 1.55.4 rate over 2130m last Friday night. He will again start from the No. 6 barrier and will relish a return to his favourite distance of 2536m.
Kim Prentice said that the Annie Belton-trained Change Gear was not without a winning chance after his strong finishing effort when third to Simply Susational and Ima Tragedy last Friday night. “He went enormous and will run a nice race,” he said. “We’ll just sit back and run home strongly.”
Ken Casellas