New Zealand-bred square-gaiter Im Not Eyre gave a faultless exhibition of trotting when he coasted to victory in a 2185m mobile event at Pinjarra on Monday afternoon and part-owner and trainer-driver Jocelyn Young is confident the eight-year-old can produce a similar effort in a 2503m stand at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
She said that the gelding was capable of switching from a stand to a mobile without any problems and that she was hoping that the gelding would maintain his normal good behaviour in a stand in a bid to take advantage of an ideal barrier at No. 2 in the Chorizo Too Hot To Trot Handicap.
“He usually steps really good,” Young said. “He’s good from any position in a race and is racing really well. Obviously, I’d like him to get to the top on Friday night which is the place to be.
“Having two starts in a week should be no problem. He does have a few issues with his feet, but if he pulls up well after Monday’s win there should be no problems. I thought he still had a bit to give at the end of Monday’s race. He’s very responsive to the whip, but I try not to hit him too much. In Monday’s race, Im Not Eyre began well from barrier five and raced three wide for the first 300m before taking the lead. He was not extended in beating Upandgone and Tokyo Joe.
“Looking at the opposition, Lightning Calder is the class horse, but he’s off 30 metres. Ton Tine is racing well, and Tenno Sho can improve on his first-up sixth.”
Young, who has six drives on Friday night, is looking forward to driving promising five-year-old Bill Haley in the 2130m Xmas Ham Classico Pace in which he will start from an awkward barrier at No. 6.
Bill Haley, prepared by Debra Lewis, made an auspicious West Australian debut at Gloucester Park three Fridays ago when he raced in seventh position before finishing determinedly to win by a length from Rock Me Over. He did not look particularly impressive, but in hindsight it was a good performance, considering that all other eight mobile events were won by the pacemaker.
“I have driven him once on the track and he’s a pretty nice horse,” said Young. “There’s a couple of nice horses in the race, but I don’t think they’re better than him, providing he’s right.”
Among Young’s other drives on Friday night are Athabascan in race one and Commander Chapel in race three. Athabascan is poorly drawn at No. 7 and faces a hard task over the sprint trip of 1730m.
Considerable interest will surround the return to racing of eight-year-old Commander Chapel, who will start from the outside of the back line in the 2130m What’s The Beef Pace. The gelding has raced 40 times for 13 wins, nine seconds and three thirds and this will be his first appearance since finishing second to Bettor Offer at Gloucester Park in February 2017.
