Ryan Warwick and Morgan Woodley, who share the distinction of having driven six winners on a program in Western Australia, will clash in the $30,000 Parliamentarians Cup over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Woodley, who has won the Parliamentarians Cup twice with Has The Answers (2009) and Real Life (2011) will handle noted frontrunner Argyle Red from the prized No. 1 barrier, with Warwick in the sulky behind up-and-coming star Mighty Conqueror, who has won at 14 of his 20 starts.
Mighty Conqueror is more brilliant than Argyle Red and is capable of overcoming an awkward barrier at No. 5. The New Zealand-bred five-year-old prepared by leading trainers Greg and Skye was the credentials and the form to emerge triumphant and give Warwick his first win in this feature event.
A win to Mighty Conqueror would cap a memorable week for Warwick, who drove all six winners on the program at Kellerberrin on Sunday before following with a double at Pinjarra on Monday afternoon.
Fifteen years ago Greg Bond prepared Money Magnet for his win, with Colin Brown in the sulky, in the Parliamentarians Cup which was first run in 1993 and was a standing-start event for 15 years before being a mobile race for the past 11 years, with the event restricted to mares in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Mighty Conqueror gave a devasting performance to win at a 1.55.2 rate over 2130m last Friday week. He was nursed out from barrier seven and settled in sixth position before starting a three-wide run and moving into the breeze after a lap. He surged to the front 300m from home and won by four and a half lengths from the pacemaker Patrickthepiranha, with final quarters in 28.7sec. and 27.8sec.
Argyle Red, trained by Rob MacDonald at Pinjarra, led from barrier one and won the 1730m Mount Eden Sprint at a 1.53.8 rate last Friday week. He also started from the No. 1 barrier two starts before that when he led and won at a 1.56.7 rate over 2130m.
Our Corelli (barrier four) and Motu Premier (six) are racing keenly and will have admirers. Our Corelli, a winner at eight of his past 15 starts, sat behind the pacemaker Vampiro before running on solidly to be third behind that pacer ands Ana Malak over 2130m last Friday night.
Our Corelli will again be handled by champion reinsman Chris Lewis, who has won the Parliamentarians Cup a record seven times with Hilarion Star (1993), Heros Knight (1998), Our London Pride (1999), Jimmy Nail (2003), Competitive Edge (2006), Ima Spicey Lombo (2010) and Leda McNally (2015).
Ross Olivieri, who prepared Heros Knight and Ima Spicey Lombo, will be pinning his faith this week on the consistent Motu Premier, who impressed in the Mount Eden Sprint when he seventh in the middle stages before sustaining a powerful three-wide finishing burst to be fourth, a mere couple of centimetres from the winner Argyle Red.
“That’s the closest you’ll get to winning without running a place,” was the appraisal from a philosophical Olivieri.
Michael Brennan’s wonderful veteran The Bucket List is favourably drawn at barrier two and reinsman Michael Grantham plans to slot the ten-year-old in behind Argyle Red and enjoy a comfortable passage one or two back on the pegs, giving him the opportunity to unleash his typical flashing finishing burst.
