Machrie... Photo by Scott Hamilton Media
Eight-year-old Machrie has been unplaced at his past seven starts and boasts a losing sequence of 22, but he looks to have sound winning prospects when he starts from the prized No. 1 barrier in the Book Your NYE at Gloucester Park Pace over the sprint trip of 1730m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Much water has flowed under the bridge since Machrie won on debut, as a three-year-old at Winton in April 2014, and was a winner Gore later that year when he defeated Run Oneover, who has since proved to be a splendid open-class performer and has a record of 68 starts for 19 wins, 27 placings and $458,763 in prizemoney.
Machrie certainly has been left in Run Oneover’s wake and has managed just $58,112 in stakes from eight wins and ten placings from 63 starts. However, the New Zealand-bred gelding has shown flashes of form in recent starts and Chris Voak will be attempting to set the pace over 1730m journey.
Machrie, trained at Pinjarra by Chris King, is the first foal out of Presidential Reign, who raced 37 times for ten wins, nine seconds and four thirds for stakes of $115,714. Presidential Reign has also produced Heez Manly, a promising five-year-old who has earned $40,374 from seven wins and eight placings from 19 starts.
Machrie has won once from 26 starts for King (over 1730m just over 12 months ago). He was prepared by Nathan Turvey for his first 13 WA starts for three wins and three placings and, interestingly, Turvey is a part-owner of Smackwater Jack, who looms large as the toughest rival for Machrie on Friday night.
Turvey has trained Smackwater Jack (a winner of five races in New Zealand) for his first 20 starts in WA for two wins and four placings. The six-year-old has just been transferred to Matt Scott’s Serpentine stables and will be driven for the first time by last season’s leading driver Shannon Suvaljko.
Smackwater Jack has been unplaced at his past four starts after he finished boldly to win from Its My Lucknow and Tradie over 2185m at Pinjarra. He is expected to be supported strongly.
