Busselton owner-trainer Barry Howlett and young driver Kiara Davies are on the crest of a wonderful winning wave and they have bright prospects of landing a double at Gloucester Park on Friday night with smart New Zealand-bred pacers Three Blind Mice and Fay Darling.
Three Blind Mice is favourably drawn at barrier three in the $20,000 Slater Gartrell Sports Interdominion Ladies Luncheon Pace in which he will be strongly fancied. And the well-bred Fay Darling also will start from the No. 3 barrier and looks hard to beat in the $18,000 The Sports Daily On TAB Radio Pace.
The 26-year-old Davies has struck a purple patch, with her most recent eight drives producing four wins, two seconds, a third and a seventh placing.
She also is in dazzling form behind Howlett-trained horses, with her past 15 drives for the stable producing eight wins, six behind the trotter Sunnys Little Whiz and one each behind Fay Darling and Major Stare.
Davies, whose recent wins include a surprise victory behind Tanaka Eagle, a $42.30 outsider last Friday night, is driving with renewed confidence and admirable flair. Her 962 drives in a blossoming career have netted 88 wins and 175 placings. Howlett has had 574 starters as a trainer for 76 wins and 117 placings.
Six-year-old Three Blind Mice, winner of the 2014 WA Derby, is ready to end a losing sequence of nine, stretching back to his victory in a 2500m stand at Bunbury last February. Howlett predicts that the gelding will be hard to beat at his third run after a spell.
“He has enjoyed a good spell and his recent runs will have him close to his top,” he said. “He has had no major problems, but has always had a few little issues.”
Davies has driven Three Blind Mice only three times for a second, a third and a fifth. Three Blind Mice raced in the breeze for the first 800m and then set the pace before finishing second to the talented Mynameskenny over 2100m at Bunbury last Saturday night when the final quarters were run in 28.2sec. and 27.7sec.
Three Blind Mice’s clash with former Victorian pacer Cut For An Ace will create considerable interest.
The nine-year-old Cut For An Ace has a losing sequence of 31 since his most recent success, at Melton in October 2013, has won 14 times from 94 starts. It is interesting to note that four starts ago, at Cranbourne in March 2015, he finished fourth in a 2080m event behind current star pacer Hectorjayjay.
Cut For An Ace, trained at Pinjarra by Michael Brennan, will be driven by his nephew Michael Grantham and will start from barrier four, alongside Three Blind Mice. At his only appearance in Western Australia Cut For An Ace raced in the breeze for much of the way before finishing third behind Vanquished and Master Jaxon.
Friday night’s race also includes another former Victorian performer, nine-year-old Jaccka Luke, to be driven by Chris Voak for Oakford trainer Ross Olivieri.
Jaccka Luke, unplaced at his first three WA starts, has not been successful since his all-the-way success over 2240m at Swan Hill in January 2014.
Fay Darling is a lightly-raced New Zealand-bred mare who has won at four of her 14 starts. A winner in Albany last February, Fay Darling has resumed after a long spell in fine form with a close first-up second to Now I Get Around over 2185m at Pinjarra followed by an impressive fast-finishing win over Sea Me Smile and Now I Get Around at Pinjarra a week later.
Few of Fay Darling’s nine rivals have shown much form in recent months. Her chief opposition is likely to come from Zacharia, Franco Joaquin and Qtown Rip Roaring.
