Threepeat; Im Themightyquinn claimed his third straight WA Cup for father/son combination Gary Hall Snr & Jnr.
He’s the little horse capable of big things.
Champion Perth pacer Im Themightyquinn scored a dominant victory in the Gr.1 $400,000 SEW Eurodrive WA Cup at Gloucester Park last night (Friday) defeating outsider Crombie and Dasher VC in the 2536m feature.
The victory cemented his place amongst the greats in Cup history as he becomes a triple champion joining The Falcon Strike while he has the perfect opportunity to sit alongside immortal pacers Village Kid and Pure Steel who have registered a record four victories each.
Winning reinsman Gary Hall Jnr. also etched in his name into the record books with the victory as he joins legendary horseman Brian Hancock as the most successful reinsman in Grand Circuit history.
Hall Jnr. has now posted 19 victories on the Circuit including 6 WA Cups, 2 Inter Dominion Pacing Championship Grand Finals, 5 Fremantle Cups, 5 Australian Pacing Championships plus an Auckland Cup.
Despite his shock loss last week which ended his winning sequence of 18 consecutive victories at Gloucester Park, punters rallied for the brilliant pacer and confidently backed their champion to return to the winner’s circle.
Im Themightyquinn has a knack of making bad draws look good.
With Dasher VC pouncing on an easy lead from gate two and 2009 WA Cup winner Mysta Magical Mach taking up the position on his outside, the pace was almost non-existent during the first lap.
The lead time was covered in a very moderate 68 seconds.
Chris Lewis continued to control the race in front with Dasher VC and posted the first quarter of the final mile in 31.2 seconds before the pressure arrived soon after passing the 1200m marker.
Livingontheinterest pulled out three-wide while Im Themightquinn anticipated the move perfectly and grabbed the prime position on his back.
The speed increased considerably during the second quarter – 28.5 seconds.
The field started to pack as they moved by the judge and the bell and the pressure was right on, Dasher VC still led the way with Mysta Magical Mach moving closer while Livingontheinterest loomed three-wide with Im Themightyquinn lurking dangerously behind him.
Entering the back straight, Hall Jnr. could wait no longer as eased the favourite four wide and he showed his customary brilliance when he sprinted quickly wide out on the track.
The third quarter was covered in 28 seconds.
Im Themightyquinn quickly took the race away from his rivals as he straightened with a good lead, Crombie emerged out of the pack while Dasher VC battled away.
At the line, Im Themightyquinn scored comfortably by 4 metres over Crombie with a further 2 metres further back to Dasher VC.
The final quarter was timed in 28 seconds.
The mile rate was 1;56.6, 0.3 seconds outside of Washakie’s Cup winning time set in 2010.
Winning trainer Gary Hall has prepared more WA Cup winners than any other trainer with seven, two more than his nearest rival, the late Phil Coulson who prepared five winners.
“That was a sensational performance; he was aided by another brilliant drive by Jnr. and he showed his brilliance yet again.” Hall said.
“I was confident he would bounce back because I knew I was too easy on him last week, he was ready and he proved his champion qualities once again.” Hall added.
Im Themightyquinn will back up next week in the Gr.1 $250,000 Fremantle Cup at Gloucester Park, a race he has dominated winning the past three editions.
