YOUNG gun driver Emily Suvaljko delivered an historic and fairy tale launch to the new look 2023 Australian Grand Circuit.
Suvaljko, who is just 21, produced one of the best feature race drives you would ever see to snare an upset win aboard the Justice Prentice-trained Mighty Ronaldo in last Friday night’s $300,000 Group 1 Fremantle Cup at Gloucester Park.
In doing so, Suvaljko became the first female to drive the winner of either of Western Australia’s biggest races – the Fremantle or WA Pacing Cups.
“I nearly won the WA Cup last year and I was the regular driver of Vultan Tin when he won it the year before, but I was out with suspension and missed the drive, so I was due a change of luck,” Suvaljko said.
Suvaljko famously gave a victory salute on Miracle Moose last year only to have Wildwest flash at her late and snatch victory.
No wonder she didn’t give a salute in the driving finish of last Friday night’s feature when Mighty Ronaldo beat a gallant Minstrel by just a head.
“It was just the perfect drive,” Prentice said. “We certainly didn’t expect to be sitting one-one, we thought four back on the pegs would’ve been a good spot.
“I think the best part of the drive was when ‘Junior’ (Gary Hall Jr) came around and pocketed her in, but she stayed calm knowing it was best to wait and hope to save him for that one last sprint. It made all the difference.”
The win was the 488th of Suvaljko’s career and she’s on target to very soon become the first female driver to top 500 career wins in WA.
Her recent move to work for Prentice is the reason she landed the reins on Mighty Ronaldo.
“Emily has just started working for me and generally in the past if I don’t have Gary Hall Jr on for these big races, then I’d drive myself,” Prentice said.
“But the owners supported me and were happy to back Emily in to take the drive and she did the rest.
“It was awesome. It’s really the first big race I’ve watched next to the owners. I was standing alongside Glen Mortimer and went crazy after the race.
“He (Mighty Ronaldo) has been such a special horse to me. He’s been lucky in the big ones, but they suit him better because it’s a genuine tempo and you can drive him for his high speed.
“It wasn’t quite the case last Friday with the stop-start tempo, but we got the perfect spot one-one and he made the most of it.”
Suvaljko’s focus now turns to changing her WA Pacing Cup fortunes in the second leg of the Grand Circuit on Friday week at Gloucester Park where she keeps the reins on Mighty Ronaldo.
Team Bond's Minstrel just fell short of going back-to-back in the Fremantle Cup, but his outstanding second showed he would be a huge force in the WA Pacing Cup.
