Mysta Magical Mach
Veteran pacer Mysta Magical Mach bounced back to top form with an all-the-way victory in a 2536m event at Gloucester Park last Friday night and astute Byford trainer Tony Svilicich has high hopes the nine-year-old can equal the feat of former champion Village Kid by winning the $35,000 Make Smoking History Lord Mayor’s Cup on Friday night for the fourth time.
Trainer Bill Horn combined with champion reinsman Chris Lewis to win the Lord Mayor’s Cup with Village Kid in 1985, 1986, 1989 and 1990.
Svilicich has won the Cup with Mysta Magical Mach in 2009, 2011 and last year. Morgan Woodley, who handled Mysta Magical Mach in the 2009 and 2013 Cup victories, will again be in the sulky in this year’s 2536m Cup. Justin Prentice drove the New Zealand-bred gelding when he won the 2011 Cup. Woodley has also won the Cup with the Svilicich-trained Taihape Tickler in 2006 and was successful behind Another One For Me in the 2012 Cup.
Mysta Magical Mach has drawn awkwardly on the inside of the back line in this year’s Cup, but the hardy gelding has a fine history of overcoming disadvantages.
He started from the outside of the front line (barrier nine) in the 2009 Cup when he was restrained to the rear and then covered a lot of extra ground in the middle stages before winning from Mr Yankee and Smooth Crusa. He also started from the outside at No. 9 in 2011 when he raced wide early and then in the breeze before defeating Can Return Fire and Tsunami Lombo.
In last year’s Cup Mysta Magical Mach (4/1) started from the No. 2 barrier and Woodley got him to the front after 400m, with Im Themightyquinn, the 11/4 on favourite settling in sixth position in the one-wide line before starting a three-wide move 1100m from home. Mysta Magical Mach held Im Themightyquinn at bay and beat him by a half-length.
Im Themightyquinn was driven by Kim Prentice for leading trainer Gary Hall sen., deputising for the champion’s regular driver Gary Hall jun., who was in Mildura contesting the annual invitation drivers’ championship at that club.
Hall sen. and Prentice are now confident of making amends for Im Themightyquinn’s defeat in last year’s Cup by succeeding with Livingontheinterest, who is ideally drawn at No. 2 on the front line and looks the likely leader.
Prentice will take over from Hall jun., who drove Livingontheinterest when he finished a close third behind Mysta Magical Mach and Red Salute last Friday night. Hall jun. will be in Mildura on Friday night as Western Australia’s representative in the invitation drivers’ championship.
Hall sen. has a good record in the Lord Mayor’s Cup. He trained and drove Tricky Bey to victory in 1994 and Abit Rich for his win in 1997. He also won the Cup with Live Live To Reign (Hall jun. in 2007) and Talk To Me Courage (Shayne Cramp in 2010).
In last week’s race Livingontheinterest started from barrier five on the front line and Hall jun. restrained him to the rear. Woodley was able to get Mysta Magical Mach to relax in front and the gelding ambled through the first 400m section of the final mile in 32.8sec. Livingontheinterest made a lightning move 1300m from home to quickly move alongside the pacemaker, who then dashed over the final three quarters in 28.4sec., 28.3sec. and 27.7sec. Mysta Magical Mach held on to score by a head from the fast-finishing Red Salute, with a neck to Livingontheinterest.
“I don’t think any runner can beat my two runners, Livingontheinterest and Hokonui Ben,” said Hall sen. “Livingontheinterest lost by only a long neck last week after working in the breeze. There’s not much between him and Hokonui Ben. Livingontheinterest grows a leg in front.”
Livingontheinterest has won six times at Gloucester Park when leading and there appears little doubt that he will burst past the polemarker Ohoka Dallas in the early stages. Nine-year-old Ohoka Dallas has a losing sequence of 34 (in which his only placing was 27 starts ago) and he will be at6 handsome odds.
Hokonui Ben is favourably drawn at barrier three on Friday night for his first appearance since Clint Hall drove him to an all-the-way victory in the $400,000 WA Pacing Cup over 2936m last Friday week. Clint Hall is serving a term of suspension and Hall sen. will confer with the gelding’s Queensland owner Jeroen Nieuwenburg on Wednesday before a substitute reinsman is engaged.
Lewis, who has won the Lord Mayor’s Cup a record eight times, will handle the Ross Olivieri-trained Red Salute, who rattled home from fifth on the pegs at the bell to be second to Mysta Magical Mach last week. Red Salute will start from the outside of the back line and should be finishing with a flourish.
Hall jun. will be busy at the Mildura meeting on Friday night with eight drives. In the four heats of the invitation drivers’ championship he will handle Rose Harvest, Our Bedrock, Aldebaran Macha and Ya Bowen Delight, and in minor events he will drive Em Jay Fortyseven, Par Three, Queen Mab and Saint Theory.
