Kiwi Legend, described by his trainer Mike Reed as a very good horse.
Kiwi Legend, described by his trainer Mike Reed as a very good horse who is on target for the Interdominion Championship series and the WA Pacing Cup next summer, looks a star bet in the opening event, the 2536m Retravision Pace, at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The New Zealand-bred five-year-old will start out wide at barrier seven in the field of eight, but that should prove no obstacle as he attempts to notch his twelfth win from 30 starts. He will be handled by Shannon Suvaljko, who returned to action in dashing style at Gloucester Park on Tuesday evening after serving a term of suspension when he landed a double with 2/1 favourite and pacemaker Artistic Lilly and 10/1 chance Plati, who charged home with a brilliant burst of speed.
Kiwi Legend bounced back to top form last Friday night when he began speedily from barrier seven and got a half-length in front of 5/2 on favourite Bungalow Bill in the early stages. But Colin Brown then was content to rate Kiwi legend in the breeze and the gelding surged to the front 110m from home and won easily from Bungalow Bill at a 1.56.4 rate over 2130m, with final sectionals of 28.6sec. and 27.8sec.
“He won very well and Colin said he was bolting and could’ve gone to the front leaving the back straight in the last lap,” Reed said. And Brown said: “He won with the ear plugs in and with a leg in the air.”
Reed said that Kiwi Legend (who has earned $166,685 from 11 wins, eight seconds and three thirds from just 29 starts) would contest the $35,000 Alltools Four and Five-Year-Old Championship on Friday week before being sent for a spell.
Reed has good prospects of a quinella result in Friday night’s race, with Foxy Dame, to be driven by Brown, favourably drawn at the No. 2 barrier.
Foxy Dame started from the back line and impressed when she finished powerfully from sixth at the bell to win narrowly from Bad Round and Questionable Gesture at a 1.57.4 rate over 2130m last Friday night.
Mexicano (barrier one) and the promising, lightly-raced Talktomeurmattjesty have place prospects. Talktomeurmattjesty, to be driven by Chris Lewis for Busselton owner-trainer Barry Howlett, has raced only 13 times for seven wins and five placings. He is awkwardly drawn at barrier six.
