Kim Prentice
Baskerville trainer Sonia Zucchiatti is a keen student of breeding and she picked out a striking black colt at the 2014 Gloucester Standardbred yearling sale. Kim Prentice did the bidding and the youngster was knocked down to him for $24,000 on behalf of Zucchiatti, Peter Yewers, Glenn Grant, Michael Ditchfield, Jeff Sarich, Peter Teale, Stephen Bomford, Ian Noble and Henry Lee.
The colt, by American stallion Shadow Play and out of Northern Luck mare Chemical Romance, is named Destined To Rule and he looks one of the main chances in the $100,000 Gloucester Standardbred Sales Classic for two-year-old colts and geldings at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
He is trained at Baskerville by Zucchiatti and will be driven by Prentice. He will start from the outside barrier (No. 3) on the back line in the 1730m classic, but has the class to overcome this disadvantage.
He made an auspicious debut in a qualifying heat of this event on Tuesday of last week when he was a 17/2 chance from the inside of the back line. He was seventh early before Prentice quickly had him poised to strike from the one-out, one-back position. He sprinted home in fine style, burst to the front in the final 50m and won by just under a half-length from the pacemaker Straittothebar at a 1.58.7 rate.
Bred by Steve Johnson, Destined To Rule, has the bloodlines to succeed. His dam Chemical Romance was retired after being unplaced at her three starts as a two-year-old in 2009. But her dam, Ferrari Trunkey, was a champion mare who raced 40 times for 22 wins and seven placings for earnings of $267,527.
Ferrari Trunkey produced eight winners, the best being Trunkey Maseratti, who amassed $273,457 from 22 wins and ten placings from 85 starts. Kevin Keys drove the Jesse Moore-trained Trunkey Maseratti to victory in the 1993 Sales Classic.
Straittothebar should be prominent from the No. 4 barrier on the front line. Trained at Byford by Katja Warwick, he is a full-brother to Straittothehilton, who won the $100,000 Westbred Classic for two-year-old fillies last June. Warwick has a sound second string in Gangbuster, who is out of former smart mare Hello Boys, a half-sister to former star mare Party Date.
Party Date earned $256,003 from 25 wins and 27 placings from 111 starts. She is the dam of Rocknroll Whitby, one of the fancies in Friday night’s race. He will be driven by the in-form Chris Voak.
Rocknroll Whitby, who finished second to the speedy Duschka in a qualifying heat, will have admirers from barrier three in the final. The gelding, trained and driven by Callan Suvaljko, was an effortless all-the-way winner at his debut, scoring by almost seven lengths from Soho Central Park at Northam on March 24. In the heat of the Sales Classic he started from the outside of the front line, raced wide early and then in the breeze before fighting on determinedly.
Suvaljko drove Henry T Whitby to victory in the 1998 Sales Classic for two-year-old colts and geldings. Henry T Whitby was trained by Ed Dewar, who bred Rocknroll Whitby with his friend Geoff Groenenberg. Suvaljko won this classic for the second time when Ballas Arockstar was successful in 2009.
If Destined To Rule triumphs on Friday night it will give Kim Prentice his third victory in the event after winning with Fake Embrace in 2004 and Aikido Whitby in 2006.
Chris Lewis has won the classic seven times --- with The Vigilante (1995), Saab (1997), Talladega (1999), On Line Brut (2000), Wirrpunda (2001), Lombo Wave Link (2005) and Mister Jadore (2013). He will handle the Ross Olivieri-trained gelding Looking Forclues from the inside of the back line.
Justin Prentice is hoping for better luck with Navy Blues, who will be tested from the outside of the front line. Navy Blues met with severe interference in a qualifying heat before he made up considerable lost ground with a determined three-wide burst to finish a most creditable fourth behind Duscha in a heat. Navy Blues is related to former outstanding performers Black And Blue, Bonnie Blue Eyes and No Blue Manna.
Duscha, a brilliant winner of a qualifying heat, will miss the final, suffering from a leg injury.
