Im Soxy Photo by Scott Hamilton Media
Six-year-old Im Soxy, a $9000 yearling, continues to blossom and the State’s leading reinsman Ryan Warwick confidently predicts the gelding will graduate to open-class company and prove his worth in Free-For-Alls.
There is little doubt that Im Soxy, a big bay with a distinctive white blaze, is one of the State’s most improved pacers under the care of 70-year-old Bunbury horseman Brian Clemens, who took over as trainer in February 2018 and has given the pacer 43 starts for nine wins and 19 placings.
Warwick, who has driven 134 winners this season, is confident that Im Soxy will prove hard to beat in the Pacing WA and Girl Power In Pacing Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night. Im Soxy will start from barrier five and will clash with several smart performers, including Caviar Star, Campora and Tact Major (prepared by champion trainer Gary Hall Snr), as well as Back To The Beach and Chiaroscuro.
Im Soxy maintained his excellent form when he enjoyed an ideal passage, one-out and one-back, before finishing strongly to win from the pacemaker Bettor Be Lively at a 1.55.5 rate over 2130m last Friday week.
Warwick was full of praise of the gelding, saying: “He can go to the next level. He’s getting better and better and is not finished with yet. He’s calmed down a lot pre-race and the way he does his preliminary is really good now. He can come off the arm or go back; he can do whatever you want him to do.”
Warwick has established a strong affinity with Im Soxy, having driven him 20 times for six wins, five seconds and five thirds. The gelding, purchased for $9000 by Cono Condipodero at the 2014 Gloucester Standardbred yearling sale, is raced on lease by Lynette Clemens, wife of the trainer. Unplaced at his first eight starts (on country tracks in 2016), he now has raced 65 times for 11 wins and 20 placings for earnings of $134,487.
By Rich And Spoilt, Im Soxy is out of the Mach Three mare Forza Di Volonta, who raced eight times as a two and three-year-old in 2010 for four wins. Im Soxy certainly inherited much of his ability from his great granddam Mitemptation, a brilliant juvenile who raced just 18 times as a two and three-year-old for 11 wins, five placings and $123,390. She won at each of her first nine starts, including a notable victory in the Group 1 Pearl Classic in January 1995.
Hall has a healthy respect of Im Soxy and said that he considered polemarker Campora (to be driven by Lauren Jones) had the brightest prospects of his trio.” Campora is an excellent frontrunner and will be hard to beat,” he said.
Four-year-old Caviar Star is racing keenly and, with Gary Hall Jnr in the sulky, should fight out the finish, while the lightly-raced seven-year-old Tact Major (Stuart McDonald) excelled last Friday night when he trailed the pacemaker Chicago Bull and ran home determinedly to finish second to the champion.
Of the others, the Murray Lindau-trained Chiaroscuro is favourably drawn at barrier three and Dylan Egerton-Green could well take advantage of the five-year-old’s sparkling gate speed in a bid to cross Campora. Back To The Beach, to be driven by Chris Voak for trainer Ross Olivieri, has win at two of his past three starts and is worthy of consideration from the No. 2 barrier.
