McCARTHY DECLARES MOTU CRUSADER IS A SUPERSTAR

Young Queensland reinsman Andy McCarthy has labelled Motu Crusader a superstar and is supremely confident that the New Zealand-bred gelding will make a successful WA debut when he contests the $50,000 Ross North Homes Four-Year-Old Championship at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

This is a bold prediction with Motu Crusader clashing with several outstanding pacers, the 2010 WA Derby winner Crombie, Dasher VC, Cromac Johnny, David Hercules, Grinjaro, Why Live Dangerously, Lombo Navigator and Wrongly Accused.

“He really doesn’t have any weaknesses,” the 24-year-old McCarthy declared. “He has everything. He’s strong, he’s fast and he’s been coming home in his final halves in fast time.”

McCarthy, who has been driving with tremendous success in North America, has not seen Motu Crusader in any of his six Australian starts he has had under the care of his father John McCarthy.

“But I’ve watched tapes of his runs and he looks a brilliant horse to me,” he said. “He looks like he could be superstar material. He came home over the final 800m in 55.1sec. at the Gold Coast at his most recent start.”

Motu Crusader was purchased at a high price by Merv and Meg Butterworth earlier this year after the gelding had raced 12 times in New Zealand for four wins and four placings. The son of Courage Under Fire has had six starts in Queensland for four wins and two seconds.

He showed his class with close seconds to the highly-talented For A Reason in the Gold Coast Derby and Queensland Derby last July. He raced wide in the middle stages and then without cover when second in the Gold Coast Derby, in which the final 800m was covered in 55.2sec. and the last 400m in 27sec.

Motu Crusader set the pace when a half-length second in the 2680m Queensland Derby in which the final 800m was covered in 55.1sec. He has won easily at each of his two starts as a four-year-old, scoring at Albion Park and the Gold Coast.

McCarthy’s confidence was buoyed when he drove Motu Crusader in a 2150m trial at Byford on Sunday. The four-year-old, a noted frontrunner, set the pace from barrier three and reeled off the final four 400m sections in 29.9sec., 29.4sec., 29.3sec. and a blistering 26.8sec. before winning narrowly from star open-class performer Has The Answers.

Motu Crusader was not extended and recorded a scorching 1.56.5 rate. He did not fare well in the random barrier draw and will start out wide at No. 7 in a classy field of nine.

Most of the horses drawn inside Motu Crusader possess good early speed and it is difficult to visualize him getting to an early lead in the 2100m event. McCarthy’s tactics and the performance of Motu Crusader promise to be the highlights of an excellent ten-event program.

McCarthy said that he has been used to driving on more spacious tracks than the 805m Gloucester Park circuit. “I have been driving on tracks of various sizes in America, mainly 1000m tracks, but also at the one-mile track at the Meadowlands and a couple of half-mile tracks.

“I find the Gloucester Park track quite good and it has a great surface. It does seem a little leader biased, but what track isn’t?”

Cromac Johnny and David Hercules fared the best in the random draw. Each pacer is versatile, but both have relished the role of pacemaker. Cromac Johnny will start from the pole and David Hercules from No. 2. There is a strong possibility of David Hercules leading, and if he does, he will take plenty of catching.

 SUVALJKO IS THE NEW DRIVER FOR HAS THE ANSWERS

Shannon Suvaljko, who has taken an early lead on the State-wide drivers’ premiership table this season, will become the 18th reinsman to handle champion pacer Has The Answers in a race when he will be in the sulky behind the evergreen gelding in the Jupiter Pace over 2100m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

Byford trainer Tony Svilicich engaged Suvaljko after the Suvaljko had driven Has The Answers in a trial at Byford on Sunday.

Has The Answers paced strongly for Suvaljko and finished a 1m second at a 1.56.5 rate behind brilliant four-year-old Motu Crusader. Suvaljko will replace Brian Kersley, who drove Has The Answers when he raced without cover and faded badly over the final 700m to finish a distant ninth behind Ima Spicey Lombo in the 2506m Parliamentarians Cup last Friday night.

The stewards were dissatisfied with the poor performance and banned the gelding for six days and told Svilicich that he would have to perform a satisfactory trial before being permitted to race again.

Suvaljko, who drove 100 winners in a season for the first time last season, has made a flying start to the 2010-11 season and he is the leading State driver with 47 winners from 214 drives. He leads from Chris Lewis (42 winners from 230 drives) and Grant Williams (25 winners from 82 drives).

Has The Answers will start from the No. 6 barrier on Friday night and Suvaljko appears certain to make full use of the gelding’s blistering early speed in an all-out bid to get to an early lead.

There is pace inside of Has The Answers. Rocket Reign, who is resuming after a spell and will start from barrier five, possesses plenty of early speed, and nine-year-old Tee Pee Village is capable of leading from the No. 1 barrier.

It is interesting to note that Tee Pee Village has set the pace and won over 2130m at the past two occasions he has started from the No. 1 barrier. Those wins were in December 2008 and March 2009 when the gelding was racing in better form.

He has recently entered the Banjup stables of Katja Schreyvogel after being unplaced at his first three runs after resuming from a spell. He began badly in stands before finishing at the rear in races at Melton and then worked hard in the breeze before wilting to fourth behind Our Malabar in a mobile at Globe Derby Park on October 16.
  
While Has The Answers has definitely gone off the boil and has a rare losing sequence of six, he is expected to have many admirers, mainly because he appeals as the likely leader. Hazelmere trainer Gary Hall sen. holds a strong hand with four runners, Rocket Reign, Im Themightyquinn, Albert Jaccka and Alzona.

Im Themightyquinn, to be driven by Gary Hall jun., will start out wide at barrier eight, but he should be ready to return to his best form after three runs following a spell. Im Themightyquinn put in an excellent performance last Friday night when he started from barrier seven, raced three wide in the middle stages and then outside the pacemaker before fighting on doggedly into second place behind the pacemaker Ima Spicey Lombo.

The final 800m was covered in 56.5sec. and Hall jun. described Im Themightyquinn’s effort as “super” and said he was confident the gelding would continue to improve.

 KNOT JUSTAFIREBALL GETS HIS CHANCE

Hazelmere trainer-reinsman Glen Richards has high hopes of turning the tables and driving speedy five-year-old Knot Justafireball to victory over talented New Zealand import Mighty McDana in the Zen Pace over 2100m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

Mighty McDana, favourite at 2/1 on, had to call on all his fighting spirit to beat Knot Justafireball by a short half-head in a 2506m event at Gloucester Park last Saturday night.

In the re-match this Friday night, Knot Justafireball looks ideally placed at barrier two, with Mighty McDana out at No. 8.

Mighty McDana completed a hat-trick of wins last Saturday night when he started from the outside barrier, settled in last position and the was urged forward, three wide, by Colin Brown after 650m before moving into the breeze at the 1450m mark and then taking the lead 750m from home.

Knot Justafireball, who had settled in fifth place in the one-wide line, was shuffled back to eighth before Richards sent him forward, three wide, with a fast move approaching the bell. Then Mighty McDana and Knot Justafireball settled down to a titanic struggle, with Knot Justafireball getting his nose in front 250m from home.

Knot Justafireball retained an extremely slender lead in the home straight before Mighty McDana fought back grimly on the inside to gain the verdict. The stewards questioned Richards why he did not remove the deafeners at any stage in the final circuit.

Richards explained that he was reluctant to do so because at the gelding’s previous start, when he removed the deafeners, he had not responded and had not finished off the race. Knot Justafireball had raced without cover and had faded to eighth behind Smart Cullen.

Knot Justafireball, a winner at 15 of his 41 starts, has not jumped straight to the front and led all the way in any of his wins. He has taken the lead in the middle stages and gone on to win at some of his races.

Therefore it will be interesting to see what tactics Richards will employ with Knot Justafireball from the No. 2 barrier, with noted frontrunner Cuvee Riche drawn on his inside.

 VOAK DRIVES FOUR WINNERS AT KELLERBERRIN

Up-and-coming reinsman Chris Voak had a day to remember at Kellerberrin on Sunday when he landed four winners on the seven-event program.

The 22-year-old Voak started the day by driving Comical Comment into second place behind So Notorious before winning with Dilemmas Daughter (3/1), Heza Hilton (34/1), Uncle Kracker (7/4 on) and Pacific Raider (11/4).

The highlight was his victory with the Graham Tanner-trained Uncle Kracker, who worked hard in the breeze before getting to the front 120m from home and winning the Merredin Cup from Rampaging Toy and Up Town John.

Voak trained Dilemma Daughter (who finished powerfully to win by a neck from the pacemaker Jaimes Beach Girl) and Pacific Raider, who ended a losing sequence of 17 when he set the pace and held on determinedly to win in a thrilling three-way photo finish from Big Jedd and Sheer Dreams.