Justin Prentice
Young Boyanup trainer-reinsman Justin Prentice is in the middle of a purple patch and has bright prospects of landing a double at Gloucester Park on tonight with Mista Rush and Miss Madoff.
He also has sound each-way prospects with Tasmanian Bromac, Lively Shard, Braemoor and Sparkling Seelster.
The 26-year-old Prentice, fresh from winning with Mista Rush at Gloucester Park last Friday night and American Ingot on the same track on Monday afternoon, is third on the Statewide trainers’ premiership with 16 wins and 14 placings from 45 starts (behind Gary Hall sen. on 42 wins and Greg and Skye Bond on 30 wins). He is fourth on the leading drivers’ table with 15 wins and 15 placings from 62 drives.
A victory by the promising WA-bred Mista Rush in the $14,999 Garrard’s Westbred final over 2130m would enhance his prospects of gaining a start in the $50,000 Four-Year-Old Championship on November 14, the $125,000 McInerney Ford Classic the following week and the $175,000 Golden Nugget Championship two weeks later.
Mista Rush will start from barrier four on the front line on Friday night and Prentice is likely to adopt similar tactics to those he used when the Courage Under Fire gelding won in impressive style last Friday night.
Mista Rush started from barrier six last week and Prentice dashed him forward, three and four wide in the first 500m before moving outside the pacemaker Macon Georgia. These two runners cleared right away from the opposition in the final circuit, with Mista Rush getting to a narrow lead 230m from home and then drawing away to win by 2m at a 1.57.9 rate after dashing over the final 800m in 57.1sec.
That was Mista Rush’s eighth win from only 15 starts and the gelding looks destined for bigger and better things.
Prentice’s other runner Sparkling Seelster, with two wins and two seconds from six starts in his current campaign, is favourably drawn at barrier two and is sure to be prominent. However, Mista Rush’s chief opposition is likely to come from polemarker Ti Amo Franco, Max Meridius and Hugh Victor, all smart last-start winners. Matt White, who celebrates his 30th birthday on Wednesday this week, is sure to attempt an all-the-way win with six-year-old Ti Amo Franco, who gave Collie trainer Dale Jackson his first Gloucester Park success when he raced without cover and won from Ardens Southee last Friday week.
Max Meridius, who sprinted home brilliantly from the rear to snatch a head victory from Sparkling Seelster last Friday week, has drawn well at No. 3 on the front line and Brad Stampalia will hold the lightly-raced five-year-old for a late charge. He should prove hard to beat.
Hugh Victor, trained at Serpentine by Stephanie Smith, has won at three of his six starts this season and is capable of unwinding a powerful finishing burst. The four-year-old, who will start from barrier four on the back line, charged home brilliantly from three back on the pegs and made full use of the sprint lane to get up and defeat Ultimate Major and Three Blind Mice at Pinjarra last Monday week. He sprinted over the final quarters in 28.7sec. and 27sec.
Prentice has engaged Tom Buchanan to drive Miss Madoff in the 1730m Altriset Termiticide Pace to take advantage of Buchanan’s junior concession. Miss Madoff, whose past nine starts have produced three wins, four seconds and a third placing, is a noted frontrunner who will take plenty of catching over the short trip.
Miss Madoff mustered considerable pace from the No. 5 barrier, dashed to an early lead, set a brisk pace and finished a splendid second to Soho Jackman over 2130m last Friday week.
Lively Shard will start from the No. 1 barrier off the front line in the 2503m Biflex Products Handicap and should be prominent against solid opposition, including Selkie, Macintosh, Lisharry and Multibet.
