Ben Keiley will drive Reuben Brogden
Byford trainer Noel Keiley could hardly contain his joy when Reuben Brogden drew the coveted No. 1 barrier in the $175,000 Lancaster Park Golden Nugget at Gloucester Park on Friday night and he declared that the New Zealand-bred gelding had a second to none chance of winning the group 1 classic.
The past three winners of the Golden Nugget (Bonavista Bay, Dasher VC and The Gold Ace) have started from the prized inside barrier, have been sent out as favourite and have set the pace before scoring in convincing style.
And Keiley is intent on following the pattern, declaring: “We will be leading.”
The random barrier draw has thrown the big race wide open, with last season’s WA Derby winner Im Victorious, defeated at his past four starts, bouncing back as a major prospect after drawing favourably at No. 2 on the front line and star Victorian-trained Chancellor Cullen, who chalked up his seventh successive win with an all-the-way victory in the 2100m McInerney Ford Classic last Friday week, drawn at No. 3 on the back line.
Reuben Brogden, who will be driven by Keiley’s son Ben, qualified for a start in the Golden Nugget when he began speedily from the No. 1 barrier and set the pace before winning a 2100m prelude last Friday night.
Noel Keiley revealed that he has followed the same unconventional lead-up to the Golden Nugget as Bunbury trainer Steve Burton, who prepared Gee Whiz Fizz for his victories in the McInerney Ford Classic and Golden Nugget in December 2005.
Burton prepared Gee Whiz Fizz for the major four-year-old classics by taking the pacer to Kalgoorlie to contest four minor event at the Goldfields annual carnival in September (for one win, two seconds and a third placing). Gee Whiz Fizz then won once at Harvey and twice each at Bunbury and Pinjarra before returning to city racing for wins in the McInerney Ford Classic and Golden Nugget.
“Basically I wanted to give Reuben Brogden some easy kills and we’ve gone down the same track as Steve with Gee Whiz Fizz,” Keiley said. “I took a different path to the other four-year-olds and tried to keep him in easier company to keep his form up so there wouldn’t be a reason for the handicapper not to give him a start in the Nugget.
“Reuben Brogden thrived up there in Kalgoorlie where he had five starts for four wins and a third placing. This got the horse’s confidence up and got Ben’s confidence up. Then after Kalgoorlie we took him to Northam for the Village Kid Sprint where he finished a close and unlucky second to Rockyourbaby. I think he probably would have won if he had not received the mid-race pressure from Old McDonald.
“That run showed how tough he is. He’s big, strong and fairly ugly and has kept on developing since I got him seven months ago. I aimed him at the Nugget after he had finished second to Bettor Reason over 2536m in June.
“I then said to my young bloke that this horse is probably not up to the best of them just yet, but we’ll aim him for the Nugget and see where we get to,” Keiley said. “The horse has done everything right thus far and he’ll love the 2500m. He pulled up extremely well after winning the prelude last week and I couldn’t be happier with his preparation.
“To qualify for a race like this is a privilege. You need a reasonable horse to get into the final and he’s a lovely horse with good gate speed and plenty of strength.”
Keiley enjoyed his first success in a group 1 event when he trained Countess Kala for her all-the-way victory over Make The Rules and Paulas Mate in the 1999 Golden Nugget.
“I haven’t had a horse as good as Reuben Brogden since Countess Kala,” Keiley said. “I’m extremely happy with the draw and he’s a big chance.”
Pinjarra trainer Michael Brennan declared that Im Victorious, a winner at ten of his 15 starts, was poised to run a big race in the Nugget after he had started out wide at barrier six, raced wide early and then in the breeze before wilting to seventh behind Chancellor Cullen in the 2100m McInerney Ford Classic last Friday week.
“I’m happy he has drawn barrier two,” he said. “It’s a lot better than barrier three or barrier 12. Destiny is in our hands from No. 2. It’s a nice barrier and we’re in a position already and we can do as we please after that.”
Brennan said that he would not give reinsman Justin Prentice any specific instructions. “They’re the best at what they do and I’ll just tell Justin to go out and enjoy it. It’s a big night for everyone concerned. Instructions only complicate things.
“Im Victorious is much better suited over 2500m, definitely. It gives him time to find his feet. The past couple of times we’ve really rushed him. And he didn’t have a chance to get into the groove of the race. The barrier draw has opened the race up a bit more. Chancellor Cullen obviously is a top-quality horse, but usually it is hard from barrier ten at Gloucester Park.
“However, you can’t predict what will happen when the barrier draw comes out. It all changes when the arms (of the mobile) go back. There might be a heap of early pressure and Reuben Brogden might have to let something go. It all changes on race night. We might be happy sitting somewhere near the front of the pack.
“Im Victorious has done really well since his last start, this week especially. He has freshened up and the fortnight between runs will be a massive benefit to us. I couldn’t be happier than where he is at the moment.”
Boyanup trainer Kim Prentice has decided to drive Raymon John in preference to stablemate Copagrin, who will be handled by Nathan Turvey.
Prentice, who has finished second in previous Nugget classics with outsiders Captain Jack Sparrow (2007) and Why Live Dangerously (2010), was thrilled when Raymon John drew the inside of the back line --- which should guarantee him a perfect run behind the likely pacemaker Reuben Brogden.
Raymon John finished solidly from ninth at the bell when fourth behind Chancellor Cullen in the McInerney Ford Classic last Friday week after his fast-finishing fifth behind Bettor Reason in the $50,000 Ross North Four-Year-Old Championship.
Leading reinsman Gary Hall jun. will drive Bettor Reason in preference to stablemate Benjamin Banneker (Shane Butcher). Bettor Reason will start from the outside of the back line And Benjamin Banneker will start alongside him from barrier 11.
“From those draws both our horses will be driven for luck,” Hall said. “It is a draw from which Bettor Reason can win. If they go really hard early and someone makes a mid-race move and doesn’t get in, well then I’ll probably go three wide with cover or even on my own. I don’t think it is a race he could have led and won over the 2500m. If the race is run upside down, he could come over the top late.”
Leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond will be represented by Your Good Fortune and Vital Equalizer.
Vital Equalizer, drawn barrier five on the front line, will be handled by star Sydney reinsman Luke McCarthy, while Colin Brown will be in the sulky behind Your Good Fortune, who is well drawn at No. 2 on the back line. The Bonds are looking for a change of fortune after they had five runners in last year’s Golden Nugget. Eliminator finished third, Seel N Print fifth, Ohokas Bondy eighth, Nimrod tenth and Johnny Be eleventh.
Chancellor Cullen, to be driven by ace Victorian reinsman Chris Alford, is favourite in early markets, ahead of Im Victorious and Reuben Brogden. He deserves favouritism after winning seven in a row.
