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Bollinger Baby poised to return to winners list
11 October 2012
by Ken Casellas
Aiden De Campo and connections of Elite Angel.
A strong workout on the track on Tuesday morning, following her excellent first-up second last Friday night has boosted young reinsman Aiden de Campo’s confidence that Bollinger Baby will end a losing sequence of 12 when she contests the 2100m Mares Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Further enhancing Bollinger Baby’s claims is an ideal spot at No. 2 in the random barrier draw for a mare who has had to contend with back-line draws at her past five starts.
“She is never a really good trackworker, but she worked pretty well this (Tuesday) morning,” said de Campo, son of Capel trainer Andrew de Campo. “She went really good first-up last week and she should go forward this week, and if she finds the front she will be very hard to beat.
“She likes it in front. She just keeps rolling and if she does that it will be hard for the horses back in the field.”
Bollinger Baby resumed after an absence of almost four months when she started from the inside of the back line and trailed the pacemaker Siena Franco before fighting on determinedly to be second to that speedy mare over 1700m last Friday night when the final two 400m sections whizzed by in 28.7sec. and 28.3sec.
A winner of one race as a three-year-old in New Zealand and six in WA, Bollinger Baby led in four of her WA wins and raced in the breeze in the other two victories.
Sweet Charlee, who has finished strongly to win at Kellerberrin on each of the past two Sundays, will have admirers from barrier four and Elsu Sheila, Libra Belle, Racketeers Girl, Kinsfolk and Im Jasper The Ghost have also been racing consistently.
The random barrier draw has also been kind to Bollinger Baby’s stablemate Clancy Maguire, who will start from the No. 2 position on the front line in the 2100m second event on the program. Using de Campo’s junior claim has enabled the M2-class Clancy Maguire to contest the event restricted to M1-class pacers.
“He’s had a lot of problems with his feet, but he’s working super and is a really nice horse,” de Campo said. “He tries his hardest all the time and if he can find the front early he’ll take some catching.”
Clancy Maguire resumed after an absence of seven weeks at Bunbury last Saturday night when he started out wide at barrier seven, was restrained to the rear and finished solidly from eighth at the bell to be second to Lombo Air Express over 2100m.
That was his first outing since he started from barrier one and gave a bold frontrunning display to win easily from Belhelvie and Borat over 2100m at Gloucester Park on August 17.
Smart performer Bettor Still will resume for Forrestdale trainers Greg and Skye Bond and is capable of a strong effort from barrier two on the back line. The Bonds will use Michael Robinson’s claim for the M2-classified Bettor Still (a winner at 14 of his 36 starts) to run in the race restricted to M1-class performers.
De Campo also is confident that Elite Angel (race seven) and Trojan Bromac (race five) will perform strongly. Elite Angel will start from barrier two in a 1700m event and de Campo said he would be keen to set the pace.
“She’s got good gate speed and if she gets to the front she’ll run a good race,” de Campo said. “If she runs home in 56sec. she will make it hard for the backmarkers.”
Elite Angel will clash with smart last-start winners Russley Rascal, Old McDonald and El Padrino in what should be a keen betting race.
Trojan Bromac will start from barrier five in a 2100m event and de Campo said that the New Zealand-bred five-year-old was due for a change of luck. Trojan Bromac galloped at the standing start and caught the eye when he finished boldly from last at the bell to be third behind Im Percy The Punter over 2631m at Pinjarra on Monday.
Trojan Bromac will clash with the talented Notabadexcuse, who was tenth and last in the middle stages and seventh at the bell before flying home, out very wide, to win over 2100m at Gloucester Park last Friday night. Notabadexcuse will again start from the outside of the front line for Waroona trainer-reinsman Bob Mellsop and looks set to fight out the finish.
