The Bull... Photo by Scott Hamilton Media
Superstar millionaire pacer Chicago Bull will have to set a record if he is to win the $50,000 Navy Cup at Gloucester Park on Friday night and he is poised to become the first horse to win the Navy Cup a second time after there has been 47 individual winners of this feature event which was first run in 1965 when Lord Mina was successful.
The champion six-year-old is in superlative form and star reinsman Gary Hall Jnr is supremely confident that the little gelding will overcome the disadvantage of starting out wide at barrier seven in the field of eight in the group 2 2130m event.
This will be Chicago Bull’s final run or second-last run before Hall of Fame trainer Gary Hall Snr takes him to Melbourne to contest the rich Victoria Cup at Melton on October 13.
“Everything is going really well with him and I’d expect him to be winning,” said Hall Jnr.
Hall Snr has won the Navy Cup five times with Abit Rich (1997), Real Life (2009), Hokonui Ben (2012), Beaudiene Boaz (2016) and Chicago Bull (2017).
Hall Jnr drove Hokonui Ben to an all-the-way victory when the Cup was a 2503m event from a stand and he brought both Beaudiene Boaz and Chicago Bull home with brilliant last-lap bursts to score easy wins in the past two years.
Beaudiene Boaz (7/1) started from barrier eight and came from last in a field of ten at the 1050m mark to take the lead 680m from home and win by two and a half lengths from the pacemaker and 9/4 on favourite Bettors Fire. Then, last year, Chicago Bull was favourite at 6/4 from the No. 9 barrier when he settled in 11th position, was seventh (three wide) at the bell and charged to the front with 570m to travel before scoring by four lengths from the pacemaker Americanbootscoota.
The Hall stable will also be represented in this week’s Cup by smart five-year-old Runrunjimmydunn, who will start from the outside barrier with Stuart McDonald in the sulky.
Runrunjimmydunn impressed when he notched his 15th win from 43 starts when he raced in fifth and last position and was still last on the home turn before sprinting home strongly, out wide, to win from Vampiro over 2536m at a 1.57.8 rate.
Runrunjimmydunny, The Bucket List and Rock Diamonds are racing in fine form, but look set to fight out the minor placings behind Chicago Bull, who boasts a marvellous record of 57 starts for 37 wins and 15 placings for earnings of $1,594,199.
The Michael Brennan-trained The Bucket List is favourably drawn at barrier two and Michael Grantham is likely to send the nine-year-old forward in a bid for the early lead. Drawn inside of him on the pole is a former Hall star Waylade, an eight-year-old who has been out of action for 21 months. He is now trained by Caris Hamilton-Smith and will be driven by Micheal Ferguson. The gelding, who has earned $408,325 from 16 wins and 20 placings from 52 starts, will be at long odds.
The Bucket List, a brilliant winner of the BOTRA Cup seven starts ago after starting off the 50m mark in the 2503m feature event, has maintained his solid form with three placings from his past five starts.
Rock Diamonds, prepared by Greg and Skye Bond, boasts a record of 16 wins and nine placings from 40 starts for stakes of $245,039. He will be driven by Ryan Warwick from the No. 3 barrier. He was a smart winner over The Bucket List four starts ago and was a sound third behind Runrunjimmydunn and Vampiro last Friday night after enjoying an ideal passage, one-out and one-back.