“Nothing ventured; nothing gained.” That’s ace trainer-reinsman Colin Brown’s explanation for his decision to set his smart mare Fifty Five Reborn the task of beating eight geldings and three stallions in the $30,000 Pacing For Pink The Kerry Clarke Four And Five-Year-Old Classic at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“She has raced against the boys before, and beaten them, though not in such good company as this,” he explained.
Fifty Five Reborn, a speedy four-year-old, fared perfectly in the random draw and Brown aims to take full advantage of the prized No. 1 barrier in the 2130m group 3 feature event by attempting an all-the-way victory.
“I could have gone for the mares’ race but under the conditions of the race she would have drawn barrier nine, so we rolled the dice and opted for this race in which we’ve come up with the right draw,” he said.
“She is deceptively quick. It’s a horse race and anything can happen, but I think she can hold up. She has been involved in a few very quick lead times against some very fast horses, with horses like Thereugo who couldn’t cross her.
“She has matured as a racehorse and now I can send her out of the gate and not worry about her firing up. She will come back to me, whereas as a younger horse if I turned the stick and fired her up that was the end of her, with her jumping on to the chewy.
“If we lead on Friday night, it will be terrific, and we will see how good she is. Alta Blues, in my opinion, is the best horse in the race, and he will give us a good test.”
Fifty Five Reborn is in peak form, having set the pace and winning at each of her past three starts, all over 2130m, rating 1.57.4, 1.57.1 and 1.56.5.
Alta Blues, prepared by Gary Hall snr, is a brilliant four-year-old who has raced only 19 times for ten wins and four seconds. He is in sparkling form and looks certain to fight out the finish. He will start from barrier No. 2 on the back line and will be driven for the first time by Callan Suvaljko, who replaces Gary Hall jnr who is enjoying some sunshine and fishing in Exmouth.
Alta Blues will certainly appreciate a considerable drop in class, after contesting a 2130m Free-For-All last Friday night when he finished fourth behind Mighty Conqueror, Patronus Star and Ideal Liner. That followed easy wins at his two previous outings.
Cody Wallrodt has been engaged to drive the speedy and consistent Back In Twenty, who will start from the No. 4 barrier. The five-year-old, who ran home solidly from sixth at the bell to finish fourth behind Magnificent Storm last Friday night, has sparkling gate speed and is the runner most likely to challenge Fifty Five Reborn for the early lead.
