Gloucester Park Review 03.07.2020

06 July 2020 | Ken Casellas
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Young survives a scare

Jocelyn Young had some anxious moments when hot favourite Just For Love paced roughly on the home turn before the filly regained her composure and went on to score a convincing victory in the $30,000 Gold Bracelet at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

“I had my heart in my mouth at the top of the straight when she put in a couple of rough ones,” she said. “But then she got back down and pacing.”

Just For Love was smartest into stride from the coveted No. 1 barrier and she relaxed as she strolled through the lead time in 38.1sec. and the opening quarters in the modest times of 32.1sec. and 31.5sec.

She then increased the tempo and covered the final 400m sections in 29.3sec. and 28.1sec. to win at a 2.0.2 rate by 4m from Lady Bella Anne, who finished strongly from fifth on the pegs at the bell. The consistent Star For Me trailed the pacemaker throughout and finished third.

Three starts before her win on Friday night Just For Love, trained in Busselton by Barry Howlett, started from barrier one in the group 1 Diamond Classic in which she set the pace before wilting to seventh behind Always An Angel.

“Barry was a little concerned about her leading tonight and we thought that we would like to get away with what we could (with a slow pace) and save her for that quick sprint that she’s got,” Young said. “So, it all worked out good for us.”

Howlett, who races Just For Love with his daughter Katie and son Jimmy, said that Just For Love was the first horse he saw when he arrived for the 2019 Perth yearling sale and he took an instant liking to her. “She was by Mach Three, a stallion I have always liked, and we were able to buy her for $17,000,” he said.

Just For Love, bred by Steve Johnson, is out of Harper Grace, a Victorian-bred pacer who raced in Western Australia for six wins, five placings and $47,185 in stakes from 27 starts. Just For Love now has had 12 starts for two wins, three seconds and $41,713. Harper Grace is a half-sister to eight winners, including Bus To Harland (61 starts for 17 wins, 15 placings and $317,869).

Just For Love’s win on Friday night earned her an automatic inclusion in the field for the $100,000 Choices Flooring Golden Slipper next Friday night. However, she will not run in the rich classic, with Howlett saying: “She has had a good campaign and deserves a rest. I’ll now spell her for six to eight weeks.”

Vultan Tin back in form

Evergreen pacer, the seemingly indestructible Vultan Tin, burst back to his best form and ended a losing streak of 15 when he defeated champion Chicago Bull in the Intersport Slater Gartrell Free-For-All at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

Second favourite at $5.40, the eight-year-old Vultan Tin raced three wide in the early stages before Chris Voak sent him to the front after 450m, with Chicago Bull, the $1.26 favourite from the outside barrier in the field of seven, settling in last position.

Gary Hall jnr moved Chicago Bull forward with 1450m to travel and the seven-year-old raced without cover for the remainder of the race and was gallant in defeat, with the final three quarters run in 28.4sec., 27.7sec. and 28sec., with Vultan Tin rating 1.56.7 over the 2536m journey. Chiaroscuro, who led early and then trailed the pacemaker, was a sound third.

Vultan Tin, bred, trained at Coolup by Phil Costello and owned by him and his son Daniel, has been a wonderful performer who has had 160 starts for 26 wins, 41 placings and $568,212 in prizemoney.

Quizzed about Vultan Tin’s drop away in form recently, Costello said: “He has had a couple of hard runs that didn’t suit him. Old horses when they work hard in races tend to be affected mentally, probably more than physically.”

Costello praised the gelding’s versatility and his strong constitution. “His legs have got lumps and bumps on them, but they were there before I broke him in,” he said. “He has never seen a vet since he was a yearling when he was gelded.”

Vultan Tin’s next run is likely to be in the $20,000 BOTRA Cup on Friday week, and Costello said that the gelding would be set for the WA Pacing Cup and Fremantle Cup in the summer.

Vultan Tin, winner of the $50,000 City of Perth Cup in February 2019, when he beat El Jacko and Herrick Roosevelt, gave a sample of his class when he finished fourth behind Lazarus, Chicago Bull and Tiger Tara in the Interdominion championship final at Gloucester Park in December 2017 when he beat home Galactic Star, Soho Tribeca and Lennytheshark.

The Vultan Tin story started just over 25 years ago when Costello bought a Victorian-bred mare Toy Shop after she had finished sixth behind Fatal Error in a CO event in Albany in January 1995 for trainer Ray Grantham and driver Lyn Lucas.

That was her only start and Toy Shop produced two foals, a colt and a filly, and only the filly, named Carravelle, raced. Carravelle failed to notch a win from 17 starts before being retired to stud, and her first foal, Ellevarrac managed one win from 30 starts, a head victory over Our Captains Lady at Pinjarra in December 2008.

Vultan Tin, by American stallion Dawn Of A New Day, is the first foal out of Ellevarrac and the only one of her two progeny to have raced. Ellevarrac died in December 2015. The second foal is five-year-old Co Pilot and the Costello family is hopeful he soon will be able to make his race debut.

Cut Above shines after poor start

Serpentine trainer Matt Scott celebrated his 14TH victory with Cut Above when she won at Gloucester Park on Friday night and reminisced how the mare survived a nasty accident soon after she arrived in Western Australia from New Zealand in February 2018.

“It certainly wasn’t the best start,” said Scott. “But she has proved to be a good earner.

“The first day I worked her I thought she was a lovely quiet horse, being New Zealand-bred and experienced in standing starts. I saw no need for a head check, and after walking a lap I said to one of my staff ‘how quiet is this horse’ and next minute she went to town and bucked for about a hundred metres.

“She got her leg over the crossbar where the breastplate goes on to --- and she went down to ground and got impaled on a bolt which went into the side of her off hind leg. She had to have three months off, and it wasn’t a good start to her career here.

“There’s no soreness in the leg, but she still shows a nasty scar of about 12 centimetres.”

Tim Blee picked out Cut Above after watching her two starts in New Zealand, when second in a 2170m stand on the grass track at Motukarara and an easy all-the way winner in a 2000m stand at Oamaru.

Blee was quite taken by Cut Above’s debut effort when she settled in seventh position and charged home, out wide, to finish a half-head second to Si Si Senor and return a place dividend of $11.90, while rating 2.9.5.

Blee outlaid $25,000 to purchase Cut Above, who now has had 64 starts for the Scott stable for 14 wins, 22 placings and $106,856 in stakes. Cut Above will have a couple more starts before being retired to stud.

Cut Above is just one of several New Zealand-bred pacers purchased by Blee in recent years and trained by Scott. Among them are Neighlor, Son Of A Tiger, Lady Azalea. His latest purchases have recently arrived at Scott’s stables from New Zealand. They are The Situation and Ocean Beach, a full-brother to top-flight pacer Ocean Ridge.

Fifty Five Reborn set for classic

Smart three-year-old filly Fifty Five Reborn will be set to contest the $30,000 Daintys Daughter Classic at Pinjarra on Monday week after impressing with her strong victory in the 2130m The West Australian Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

Astute Banjup trainer-reinsman Colin Brown was full of praise for the Renaissance Man filly after she started out wide at barrier seven, surged to the lead after 400m and sprinted over the final 800m in  56.7sec. to win from the fast-finishing Red Hot Lady, who led early and then trailed the pacemaker.

“She’s just a lovely little filly who does everything right,” Brown said. “She does nothing wrong and just does the job. She is the sort of filly who can continue racing until the end of the extended season in December. With bonuses, she has earned more than $100,000.”

Fifty Five Reborn has already amassed $81,897 in prizemoney from seven wins and two placings from 17 starts. She is the first foal out of unraced Bettors Delight mare Arma Fifty Five. Brown also prepares the second foal out of Arma Fifty Five, a colt named Arma Einstein.

Fifty Five Reborn and Arma Einstein are closely related to Arma Xpress, who earned $279,890 from 12 wins and one placing from just 18 starts. She was an outstanding two-year-old when her wins in that season included the group 1 Sales Classic and the Golden Slipper, two group 2 events, the Champagne Classic and Westbred Classic, and the group 3 Gold Bracelet.   

Young’s first city success

Thirty-one-year-old horseman Michael Young notched his first success as a trainer in a metropolitan-class event when Gary Hall jnr drove $7.80 chance Bolta to a fighting victory in the 2130m Westral Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

Also enjoying the victory are first-time owners Matt McMahen, Sammy Grantham, Clint Deane and Tam Dijkhuizen, who race the five-year-old in partnership with Young.

The new owners, who paid $10,000 for Bolta, are delighted that the gelding’s 26 starts for them have resulted in five wins, eight placings and stakes of $39,241.

Young explained that 12 months ago Brad Oldroyd, who owned Bolta with his parents John and Val, offered the gelding to Hall jnr to ascertain whether he knew anyone who might be interested in buying the pacer.

“I was in the right place at the right time and said I was willing to buy the horse,” Young said.

“Bolta was a bit of a handful when we got him; you would bring him to the races, and he would just stand and shake and sweat. He ran his race before he went on to the track. He also struggled to hold condition. But we have sorted out his problems and he looks well and races well.”

Polemarker Affluent Bell, the $2.20 favourite, set the pace in Friday night’s event, with Hall quickly positioning Bolta into the one-out, one-back trail, behind $51 outsider Art Tudor in the breeze. Bolta and Art Tudor got the better of Affluent Bell in the home straight and they fought out an exciting finish, with Bolta prevailing by a half-neck, with Affluent Bell a half-length away in third place.

One for Mum and Dad

Trainer Giles Inwood’s recent run of successes with Gangbuster, Bettor Party and Semiramide continued at Gloucester Park on Friday night when Batavia Silverline, a $26 outsider, triumphed in a thrilling three-way photo finish of the 2130m Simmonds Steel Free-For-All for mares.

Batavia Silverline, a four-year-old by Elsu, started from the prized No. 1 barrier and reinsman Michael Grantham had her perfectly positioned behind the freewheeling pacemaker Millwood Gucci ($14), with the $1.75 favourite Mandy Joan in the breeze.

After the second and third quarters of the final mile in 28.7sec. and 27.9sec. Batavia Silverline finished strongly to gain a last-stride victory by a head over Millwood Gucci, with that mare’s stablemate My Prayer ($8) finishing powerfully to be  a nose away in third place.

“Despite her very good second to Manning at Pinjarra on Monday afternoon, I thought Batavia Silverline would be outclassed the strong field at Gloucester Park,” said Inwood. “But she’s a good trier.

“Batavia Silverline is owned by my parents Grahame and Jennifer and this was their first win in a metropolitan-class event.”

He’s the real deal

Hardy seven-year-old Mighty Flying Deal, unplaced at his previous 13 starts and with a losing run of 15, the victim of a succession of wide draws, relished an ideal barrier and bounced back to form with a strong win over Extreme Prince and Bad Round in the 2130m TABtouch Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

The New Zealand-bred gelding, prepared in Collie by Wayne Justins, was a $8.50 chance from his ideal draw on the inside of the back line and 23-year-old Mark Johnson drove a perfect race, following the pacemaker Mattjestic Star before easing off the pegs in the final lap and dashing Mighty Flying Deal to the front with 220m to travel. In an up-tempo affair, Mighty Flying Deal rated a smart 1.55.6.

“I knew that the one horse (Mattjestic Star) pulls hard and that he would run along,” said Johnson. “My horse was travelling easily on Mattjestic Star’s back all the way and I was confident he would be able to get over the leader.”

Mighty Flying Deal is by American Ideal and is the ninth foal out of Fleets Pocket, who was retired after four unplaced efforts as a two and three-year-old in New Zealand. Mighty Flying Deal is one of ten winners produced by Fleets Pocket, the most successful being Flying Pocketlands (90 starts for 21 wins, 29 placings and $442,423), Mighty Flying Thomas (226 starts for 24 wins, 56 placings and $345,429) and Mighty Flying Mac (87 starts for 16 wins, 29 placings and $265,837).

Mighty Flying Deal raced 35 times in New Zealand for five wins and seven placings. He now has won 14 times for the Justins family and boasts a fine career record of 115 starts for 19 wins, 22 placings and $190,418.

All the way for Rebel With A Grin

Rebel With A Grin is an extremely capable standing-start performer and he relished the No. 2 barrier in the Etch Coatings Handicap, a stand over 2503m at Gloucester Park on Friday night, when Dylan Egerton-Green drove him to an easy all-the-way victory.

The New Zealand-bred four-year-old, prepared by champion trainers Greg and Skye Bond, has excelled since arriving in Western Australia where his 17 starts have produced seven wins and six placings.

He was a $5.70 chance and gave his rivals little opportunity to seriously challenge him when he dashed over the final three quarters in 29.5sec., 28.9sec. and a similar 28.9sec. to beat Major Artist (who trailed him all the way) by two and a half lengths.

Rebel With A Grin is by Smiling Shard and is out of Highview Chasue, a half-sister to former star pacer Highview Tommy, who earned $990,015 from 17 wins and 27 placings from 104 starts. It was interesting at Northam on Saturday night when one of Highview Tommy’s sons Tommy Kruze, a three-year-old owned, trained and driven by Michael Blakemore, scored an easy win over 1780m.

Our Perkins bounces back

Our  Perkins, a handy six-year-old trained at Byford by Karen Thompson, unplaced at his five previous starts from unfavourable barriers, gave a typical powerful frontrunning performance to win the Cowden The Insurance Brokers Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.       

Dylan Egerton-Green had no problem in sending Our Perkins, the $2.10 favourite, to the front from the No. 3 barrier and the WA-bred Rocknroll Hanover gelding was not extended in coasting to victory by more than two lengths from $5 second fancy Carter Micheal, who finished boldly from eighth at the bell.

Our Perkins is out of the unraced mare Foxy Cleo, who has done a fine job at stud in producing ten winners. Our Perkins has had 65 starts for 11 wins, 15 placings and $92,226.

Double for the Bond camp

Leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond completed a double at Gloucester Park on Friday night when Ryan Warwick drove promising New Zealand-bred four-year-old Infatuation to an all-the-way victory in the 1730m Worldwide Printing Pace.

The Bonds had won earlier in the program with Rebel With a Grin, driven by Dylan Egerton-Green.

Warwick had to defy an early challenge for the lead from the $3.90 second favourite Cyclone Banner and then dictated terms in front, with Cyclone Banner working hard without cover. The final quarters whizzed by in 28.6sec. and 28.3sec. and Infatuation, the $1.30 favourite, rated a smart 1.54.5.

Infatuation raced four times in New Zealand for one win and three seconds and his WA record stands at 13 starts for nine wins and one placing.

  

 

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