Exciting square gaiter Majestic Ga Ga has the speed and strength to become the first horse to win the $50,000 Nova Trotters Cup from the testing 50-metre back mark at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
No trotter has begun from 50m or farther back in the 20-year history of this feature event, and Majestic Ga Ga will line up on the outside of Patched and Luvaflair from this mark this week.
Outstanding young driver Emily Suvaljko is looking forward to guiding the Victorian-bred five-year-old mare to victory, saying that she has a special bond with Majestic Ga Ga.
“She is the horse I have won most races with, with her last-start win, at Pinjarra on Monday being my eleventh victory with her,” she said. This bettered Suvaljko’s ten wins with the brilliant pacer Miracle Moose in 2020 and 2021.
Majestic Ga Ga warmed up for Friday night’s assignment with an effortless win at Pinjarra on Monday when she began speedily from the No. 6 barrier to burst to the front after 150m and set a brisk pace before beating Luvaflair by thee-and-a-half lengths, rating 2.0.4 over 2185m.
Majestic Ga Ga’s two previous starts were in 1730m mobile events at Gloucester Park --- and she goes into the Trotters Cup, a stand, with an impressive record of six wins, two seconds and three thirds from her past eleven starts.
Though she is a noted speedster when excels as a frontrunner, Suvaljko says “she is better as a sit-sprinter.”
Majestic Ga Ga will be attempting to become the second horse to win the Trotters Sprint and Trotters Cup in the one season. She won the 1730m Trotters Sprint two starts ago when she overcame the disadvantage of beginning from the outside barrier (No. 9) on the front line. She began brilliantly and then raced behind the pacemaker My Lightning McQueen before beating that mare by a half-length at a 1.58 rate.
The only horse to have won the Sprint and the Cup in the one season is Sun Of Anarchy, who won the Cup in January 2019 and the Sprint two months later.
Majestic Ga Ga is prepared by leading trainer Michael Young, who is hoping to go one better this year than he did in 2024 when his Victorian-bred six-year-old mare Evas Image finished second to Our Maestoso in the Sprint and the Cup.
On paper, Majestic Ga Ga, Patched and Luvaflair face a tremendous task from the 50m mark when the records reveal that the Trotters Cup has been won once by a trotter starting from 40m (Nacokee in 2010) and three times by horses off 30 metres (Compressor in 2009, Princess Mila in 2020 and Patched 12 months ago).
Pinjarra trainer David Young has won the Trotters Cup twice --- with the evergreen Patched, driven to victory by Aiden de Campo in 2023 and 2025. Patched began from the back mark of 30m in last year’s Cup in which he zoomed forward with a three-wide burst 1300m from home to race outside the pacemaker Uptown Lad before taking the lead 260m from home and winning by a head from Nickys Son.
Patched began from 20m in the 2023 Cup when he ran on from seventh at the bell to win by two lengths from Chumani. In the 2024 Trotters Cup Patched started from 40m and finished an excellent third behind Our Maestoso and Evas Image.
This year Patched will be driven by Young’s niece Jocelyn Young, whose father Kim trained and drove Macladdie (backed from 4/1 to 7/4) to victory over Dash Of Light in the inaugural Trotters Cup in January 2006. A year later, Kim Young set the pace with 14/1 chance Truscott Storm, who was beaten by a nose in the final stride by 8/1 chance Risk And Reward.
Grumpee, a newcomer from Victoria to David Young’s Pinjarra stables, is capable of a bold showing when he begins from 20m with de Campo in the sulky.
Grumpee was the $1.75 favourite when he galloped badly at the start of the 1730m Trotters Sprint last Friday week and trailed his rivals throughout. That followed runaway victories at Pinjarra at his two previous appearances. Young has a handy third string runner in Thats Not My Gait, who will be driven by Deni Roberts from the 10m line.
Waroona trainer Nigel Johns, who prepared Compressor for his victory in the 2009 Trotters Cup, will drive Aldebaran Sundown, who will begin from the 10m mark. However, his best winning prospect is sure to prove to be the wonderful eight-year-old mare Luvaflair, who has amassed $302,883 in prizemoney from 29 wins and 48 placings from 151 starts. Luvaflair will be handled by her regular driver Donald Harper.
