IT was the night Gary Hall Sr went one better than the late great Bart Cummings.
While the legendary Cummings won a remarkable 12 Melbourne Cups, Hall Sr made it 13 wins in his equivalent – the Group 1 WA Pacing Cup – when Diego dominated from the front at Gloucester Park last Friday night.
“Really? That’s pretty amazing, but I’d still rather the 12 Melbourne Cups,” Hall Sr laughed.
While there was oodles of drama in the week leading up to the Cup, the race itself was ho-hum and completely dictated from the front by Hall Sr’s son, Gary Hall Jr.
It was a real contrast from recent epic WA Cups, including last year when Hall Sr’s outsider Wildwest flashed home from nowhere with Callan Suvaljko aboard to snatch victory at the end of a frantically run race.
Diego, a seven-year-old son of Bettors Delight, gave Hall Jr his ninth WA Cup driving success.
For Hall Sr, the result was even sweeter with stablemate Jumpingjackmac producing the run of the race to rocketed home for a close second and making it a stable quinella.
Hall Sr’s other 12 WA Cups wins have been with: Wildwest (2022), Chicago Bull (2017), My Hard Copy (2016 and ’17), Hokonui Ben (2014), Im Themightyquinn (2011, ’12 and ’13), Tealsby Karita (2007) and The Falcon Strike (2002, ‘04 and ’05).
Eight of Hall Jr’s wins have been for his father, the exception being the Justin Prentice-trained Rocknroll Lincoln in 2019.
Landing quinella ended a stress week for Hall Sr, who wasn’t able to finalise drivers for all three of his Cup runners – defending champion Wildwest being the other – until hours before the Cup.
And Hall Jr didn’t know if he would be driving in the race until lunchtime Thursday as sweated on the result of his appeal against a suspension.
Stewie McDonald drove Jumpingjackmac and Kyle Harper was replaced by Mitchell Mitchell aboard Wildwest not long before the meeting started.
As thrilling as Diego’s win was, it came with mixed emotions given Hall Jr’s partner, Maddison Brown, would have taken the reins were it not for the impact of concussion from a nasty race fall the previous week.
Brown had driven Diego at his previous 21 starts and played an instrumental role in his rise from a fringe player to arguably WA’s best
“It was cruel really,” Hall Sr said. “There’s an automatic 12-day stand-down rule with concussion.
“It’s a shame because Maddison has been with him all season and been such a big part of his continued improvement. She deserved to win it and didn’t get the chance.”
Hall Sr has now set his sights with two major players towards WA’s richest and newest race, the $1 million Nullarbor slot race at Gloucester Park on April 14.
“I’ll just have the two for it – Diego and Jumpingjackmac – but I wouldn’t swap either of them for anything else,” he said.’
“Diego has been getting the draws and leading, but he’s more versatile than people give him credit for. He’s come from last and beaten good horses.
“Jumpingjackmac’s run was amazing. The best of his career. He’s getting better and better all the time and will be a great chance in the Nullarbor.
“It’s exciting to have another big race like that to look forward to.”
The WA Pacing Cup was the second leg of the Grand Circuit with Mighty Ronaldo having won the first, the Fremantle Cup, two weeks earlier.
We don't have to wait long for the third leg with the $500,000 Hunter Cup, which shapes as an epic, at Melton next Saturday night.
