Tilbrook’s mission accomplished
Experienced trainer-reinsman Peter Tilbrook was a man on a mission when he went to the 2016 Gloucester Standardbreds Yearling Sale with a single object --- to buy a filly whose dam Living On Love had managed one placing from seven starts and whose first two foals were flops on the racetrack.
He outlaid $10,000 to purchase the filly (lot No. 2) and his judgement has been fully vindicated, with the filly named Vivere Damore boosting her prizemoney to $144,090 when Emily Suvaljko drove her to a dashing all-the-way victory in the group 2 Catalano Trucks Christmas Gift at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“Her sire Lincoln Storm was comparatively unknown as a stallion, but I knew he was a good racehorse in New Zealand, and I liked the filly because her family background was very strong, with her granddam Inamorato having produced nine winners, including Chivalrous Fella (86 starts for 27 wins, 31 placings and $271,809),” Tilbrook said.
Five-year-old Vivere Damore now has raced 77 times for 11 wins and 20 placings.
After Tilbrook bought Vivere Damore (his only purchase at the sale) he syndicated her, and he races her in partnership with the pacer’s breeder John Coffey, Luke Tabbakh, Leanne Lee, Jim Nelson, Ray Bastin (who drove the stewards’ car at Gloucester Park for many years) and veteran trainer Reg Phillips.
Lincoln Royal, by Mach Three, raced as Sir Lincoln in New Zealand and was retired with a splendid record of 57 starts for 21 wins, 15 placings and $650,230. His successes included group 1 victories in the 2009 Sires Stakes final at Addington, the Emerald at Cambridge in 2010 and the 2012 Auckland Cup. He also finished a half-length second to Courage To Rule in the Victoria Derby in February 2010.
Vivere Damore is the fourth and last foal out of the Village Jasper mare Living On Love, whose one placing was her third behind Fidelius Charm in the WA Oaks Consolation in May 2009. She has certainly outshone her half-sisters The Camellia (11 starts for one placing and $965) and Telegraph Love (60 starts for one win at Albany, seven placings and $11,719).
Emily Suvaljko made the most of the opportunity to drive Vivere Damore on Friday night when she replaced her father Shannon, who is serving a week’s suspension for unsatisfactory use of the whip.
Shannon Suvaljko drove Vivere Damore the previous Friday night when she finished powerfully from the rear to win from Queen Shenandoah. “That showed that she is not purely a frontrunner, but she certainly excels in front,” said Tilbrook.
“Vivere Damore won a feature event for mares last New Year’s Eve, and in the 12 months since she has shown steady improvement. And I’m looking forward to her competing in a race for mares next Thursday.”
Vampiro equals track record
Outstanding performer Vampiro maintained his excellent form when he raced three back on the pegs in fourth position before finishing with a powerful burst to beat the pacemaker Bletchley Park in the Catalano Trucks And Sales Service Finance Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
He covered the 2536m journey in 2min. 59.9sec. and rated a smart 1.54.1 to equal the track record set by Caviar Star when he finished fast to beat the pacemaker Vampiro by a head in the Fremantle Cup last December. Caviar Star covered the 2536m in 2min. 59.9sec. but was given a mile rate of 1.54.2. The previous track record for the distance was the 1.54.5 rate recorded by superstar Lazarus in winning a heat of the Interdominion Championship in December 2017.
Setting up the record-equalling run was four-year-old Bletchley Park, the $3.80 second favourite driven by Lindsay Harper who dashed over the final four quarters in 28.5sec., 28sec., 27.2sec. and 28.9sec. Bletchley Park led by three lengths 300m from home but was unable to hold out Vampiro, who burst to the front in the final 30m.
Vampiro, the $5.50 third fancy who started from the inside of the back line, is prepared by leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond and was driven with great confidence by Colin Brown. His stablemate Galactic Star, favourite at $3.50, raced in the breeze early and then enjoyed the one-out, one-back trail before fighting on to finish third.
The other Bond runners Our Jimmy Johnstone ($31) and Mighty Conqueror ($6) finished fifth and ninth, respectively. Mighty Conqueror had a tough run in the breeze before wilting over the final stages. The stewards reported that the five-year-old had pulled up lame in the off foreleg.
Vampiro, owned by Skye Bond and Rob Gartrell, has earned $593,2476 from 26 wins and 22 placings from 70 starts. He is being set for next month’s Village Kid Sprint.
By Rocknroll Hanover, Vampiro is the third foal out of the unraced Artsplace mare Fortune Lover, whose dam was the brilliant Under Cover Lover, who had 70 starts for 21 wins, 22 placings and stakes of $864,923. Vampiro had seven starts in New Zealand as a three-year-old early in 2017 for a win and a second placing before coming to Western Australia.
Golden Nugget plans for Al Guerrero
Promising colt Al Guerrero chalked up his fourth victory from four starts since resuming from a spell when he gave a typical dashing frontrunning display to easily beat Antero and The Kraken in the 2130m Tilt To Tow Services Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Breeder, part-owner and trainer Kyle Anderson said: “He has definitely improved on his previous campaigns and the plan at the moment is the Golden Nugget next year.
“He was a bit of a knee-knocker early this year, and that was a problem leading into the WA Derby and Westbred Classic. He was getting progressively sorer, and I was having to patch him up to have him ready for those feature races.
“He is now racing with the double one-legged spreader which is a relatively new piece of gear. This has been successful and he has come back better after a spell and is more confident. He is blessed with good gate speed and we have always driven him to his strength, which is out in front.”
The 32-year-old Anderson is the full-time stable foreman for Serpentine trainer Matt Scott and he also has three pacers of his own in work.
Al Guerrero, the $2.50 favourite from the No. 4 barrier, was driven confidently by Kyle Harper, who sent the three-year-old Alta Christiano colt to the front 200m after the start. Al Guerrero settled well before dashing over the final quarters in 27.6sec. and 28.5sec. and he rated 1.56.2 over the 2130m.
This was his first success at his 13TH appearance at Gloucester Park, after having notched seven wins at Pinjarra and two at Bunbury’s Donaldson Park, including the Battle of Bunbury last March.
Al Guerrero is the fifth foal out of the unraced mare Armas Eclipse, whose other progeny to have raced have been only moderate performers, with Ohoka Chief having 128 starts for three wins, 22 placings and $31,271, Call Me Ernie racing 105 times for nine wins, 24 placings and $52,877, and Over Armed having 76 starts for three wins, ten placings and $25,812.
Al Guerrero now has earned $76,372 from ten wins and seven placings from 30 starts.
“We bred him out of a mare we paid $300 for a dispersal sale,” Anderson said. “She was bought as a three-year-old brood mare who had a knee issue and didn’t race. Dad wanted a brood mare, and Armas Eclipse’s family went back to a pretty nice family (which included champion mare Armalight, who won seven group 1 events, four group 2 races and one group 3 event in the early 1980s in a 36-start career which included 18 wins and 11 placings).
“We wanted to breed something for a bit of fun, and Al Guerrero is the only one with a fair bit of talent.” Anderson’s father died last January, and Al Guerrero is now raced by Anderson, his mother Michelle and his late father’s stepfather Jim Morgan.
Somebeachparty overcomes setbacks
Highly promising pacer Somebeachparty has overcome some early setbacks to develop into one of the State’s best mares who is in a purple patch of form, with her ten starts in her current campaign producing five wins and five second placings.
But life hasn’t always been a vase of flowers for the New Zealand-bred mare who has managed only 18 starts for seven wins, seven seconds and one third for stakes of $67,678. She will officially turn six on January 1.
A weeping nearside eye is a constant reminder of Somebeachparty’s early misfortunes. Purchased in New Zealand as a yearling by Busselton trainer Barry Howlett and raced by him, his wife Lyn and their son Jimmy, she had a dramatic time in her early days in WA.
“As an early two-year-old and on the first time in the cart on our track she reared and cracked her face,” Howlett said. “She suffered a badly damaged eye socket and a fractured cheekbone, and later she bolted and damaged her off knee.
“The little duct that runs from her eye to her nose was damaged and this causes her eye to weep all the time.”
Somebeachparty had two campaigns of four starts in each campaign as a three-year-old in 2018, winning at Bunbury on debut and winning first-up at Pinjarra at the start of her second campaign.
Three starts later, she finished a nose second to Alkira Quattro Jet at Bunbury on September 8, 2018, and his next appearance was 25 months later when she led and won from Doctor Tom at Narrogin on October 3 this year.
Somebeachparty has gone from strength to strength since that Narrogin success, and at Gloucester Park on Friday night she was a hot $1.20 favourite when Gary Hall jnr dashed her straight to the front from barrier three and then gave a bold frontrunning display to win by just under two lengths from stablemate and $6.50 chance Millwood Gucci.
The winner rated 1.56.2 over the 2130m after final quarters of 28.5sec. and 27.7sec. This gave Hall the perfect record of four drives behind the mare for four wins.
Howlett said that he had bought Somebeachparty because he liked the look of her and that he was impressed with her breeding. She is the second foal out of Party Girl Becqui, who had 88 starts for 13 wins, 19 seconds, seven thirds and $150,200 in stakes.
Party Girl Becqui’s first foal Shesa Killer Queen raced 42 times in New Zealand for six wins, 15 placings and $131,959.
Short spell for Lavra Joe
Powerful colt Lavra Joe enhanced his standing as the State’s best two-year-old when he relished the task of working hard in the breeze before winning in grand style from the pacemaker Eldaytona in the Catalano Truck And Equipment pace at Gloucester park on Friday night.
Eldaytona set a scorching pace for Lindsay Harper and he sped over the final four quarters in 29sec., 28.3sec., 27.9sec. and 28.5sec. Lavra Joe, the $2.05 favourite who started from the No. 5 barrier, raced three wide for the first 200m before Chris Lewis was content to rate him in the breeze.
Lavra Joe eventually gained the upper hand about 100m from the finish and was not extended in winning by a head. His mile rate was 1.54 which smashed the track record for two-year-olds over 2130m. The record rate of 1.55.4 was shared by Bletchley Park and Jett Star.
Greenbushes owner-trainer Ray Jones was delighted with Lavra Joe’s outstanding performance, saying: “When they ran so hard, I thought that he would be struggling at the finish. But he’s just so tough and he doesn’t stop trying.
“Chris (Lewis) was very confident. He said that he had the measure of Eldaytona all the way and it was just a matter of the horse putting his head in front.
“I’ll be giving Lavra Joe a brief spell of about three weeks because there is not another suitable race with a random draw until the end of January. He’s a big boy and is still growing. The WA Derby is the main plan for him, as well as running in the Country Derby.”
Lavra Joe has excelled in his first season of racing, with his 22 starts producing 11 wins, six placings and $121,881.
Roman Aviator ends 11-month drought
WA-bred five-year-old Roman Aviator ended an 11-month drought and broke a losing sequence of 16 when he started from the outside of the back line, was seventh at the bell and surged home, three wide, from the 400m to hit the front on the home turn and win the 2130m Catalano Trucks Ugga Dugga Motorsports Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
A $11.90 chance, Roman Aviator rated 1.55.9 in beating the fast-finishing Destined To Rule ($34) by just over a length to improve his record for owner-breeder Peter George to 82 starts for 17 wins, 19 placings and earnings of $180,872.
“He put his hand up when it counted,” said trainer-reinsman Aldo Cortopassi. “He has been running some good races and I couldn’t have asked any better for tonight’s race to be played out the way it did. It was perfect.
“Roman Aviator went through his classes fairly quickly, and he’s not a Free-For-All horse. So, we had to wait for a while to get his dollars down enough to drop down in grade. He has done a good job and has probably over achieved for most of his life. He’s been looked at by the United States at the moment.
“Peter George has been a long-term client of Trevor Warwick, and when Trevor moved to the States, they bought Roman Aviator’s sire Mr Aviator, who had a successful career on the track in America before coming to Australia. Apart from Roman Aviator he has sired good horses like Theo Aviator, Naval Aviator and Be Seventeen. They haven’t been superstars but have been good, honest and tradesman-like horses.”
Alta Louisa sparkles
Memories of Famous Alchemist racing brilliantly and winning 11 times in Western Australia in 2013 and 2014 were revived at Gloucester Park on Friday night when her first foal Alta Louisa gave a sparkling frontrunning performance to win the 2130m Sefs Finance Kenwick Pace.
Prepared in Boyanup by Justin Prentice and driven by Gary Hall jnr, Alta Louisa, the $1.40 favourite, was not extended in winning by two lengths from $34 chance Miss Lamarr at a 1.57.6 rate.
Alta Louisa, who was having her third start after a spell, has earned $27,633 from her four wins and two thirds from nine starts.
The Ian Foley-trained Misstiano ($23) impressed in finishing boldly from seventh at the bell to be third, and she should pay to follow. Savvy Bromac, an $11 chance from the No. 7 barrier, raced wide early and then in the breeze before battling on into fourth place.
Famous Alchemist returned to New Zealand after her successes in WA and was retired to the breeding barn with a splendid record of 51 starts for 16 wins, 16 placings and stakes of $351,805.
Cyclone Banner flies home
Mt Helena trainer Ray Williams engaged outstanding young driver Emily Suvaljko to handle Cyclone Banner for the first time to take advantage of her junior concession and enable the New Zealand-bred four-year-old to become eligible to contest the $19,000 Catalano Trucks Kenwick WA Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
However, the 20-year-old Suvaljko was despairing of repaying Williams of his faith when Cyclone Banner began to hang at the rear of the field on the home turn.
“He was hanging badly on the turn and I thought we had no hope,” Suvaljko said. “But as soon as we straightened up, he stopped hanging and really pinged home.”
Cyclone Banner, a $14.10 chance despite his victory over Sir Galahad and Justasec the previous week, started from the outside barrier (No. 7) on the front line and after racing three wide early, was restrained to the rear.
He was still in last position in the field of eight 350m from home before Suvaljko switched him four wide and urged him forward, five wide, on the home turn. He charged home and won by more than a length from Bad Round.
Cyclone Banner, a winner at two of his six starts in New Zealand, has been a consistent performer in WA and now has a record of 34 starts for 15 wins, eight placings and $131,265 in prizemoney.
The win completed a long-priced double in the space of 40 minutes for Suvaljko, who had driven $21.80 chance Vivere Damore to victory in the previous event.
Justasec romps home by big margin
Lightly-raced New Zealand-bred four-year-old Justasec ended the longest losing sequence of his career when he set the pace and crushed his rivals in the 2130m Catalano Trucks One Stop Shop Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
His win as a hot $1.10 favourite broke a losing run of five and improved his record to 23 starts for 12 wins, five placings and $99,484.
Justasec, driven by star reinsman Ryan Warwick for leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond, dashed over the final quarters in 28sec. and 27.6sec. and beat the fast-finishing Waltzingwithsienna ($34) by 17 metres at a 1.56.1 rate.
Waltzingwithsierra was most impressive. She raced in eighth position and flew home from the rear on the home turn with a five-wide burst.
Triroyale Brigade levels the score
Five-year-olds Triroyale Brigade and Lawrence had met five times in New Zealand, with Lawrence finishing ahead of his rival three times. And they dominated the betting on the Sefs Handicap, a 2503m stand at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Lawrence was favourite at $1.70, with Triroyale Brigade the $5.50 second fancy. And Triroyale Brigade levelled the score at three-all by winning by one length from Lawrence.
Henley Brook trainer-reinsman Robbie Williams stole a march by jumping Triroyale Brigade straight to the front, while Lawrence, drawn to his immediate outside at barrier three on the front line, paced roughly in the early stages, leaving Ryan Warwick with little option but to race in the breeze.
Lawrence issued a spirited challenge 250m from home, but Triroyale Brigade carried too many guns for his rivals and went on for a comfortable victory.
Triroyale Brigade raced 43 times in New Zealand for five wins and 18 placings and he is sure to improve significantly on his WA record of two wins and five placings.
