De Campo free to drive Grevis
Star reinsman Aiden De Campo has succeeded in his bid to drive quality colt Grevis in the $150,000 Channel 7 Golden Slipper at Gloucester Park on Friday night, and the son of Lazarus is at the top of his game and has excellent prospects of giving the 31-year-old De Campo his first win in the group 1 classic for two-year-old pacers.
De Campo successfully applied to the RWWA stewards for a three-day reduction in a 16-day suspension for causing interference in a recent race.
Grevis, who will start from the inside on the back line, has finished in the top three in all his nine starts --- for two wins, three seconds and four thirds.
At his most recent appearance Grevis, trained by De Campo and driven by Trent Wheeler, trailed the pacemaker Waverider and finished second to his stablemate Menemsha (handled by De Campo) in the group 1 Westbred Classic for colts and geldings last Friday week.
Menemsha has a slight leg injury and will not contest the Golden Slipper in which the De Campo-trained Ideal Muscle will start out wide at barrier No. 9 on the front line, with Wheeler in the sulky. Ideal Muscle ran home strongly, out wide, to finish an encouraging third in the Westbred Classic.
Brilliant Capel trainer Justin Prentice will be bidding for an unprecedented fourth successive victory in the Golden Slipper when Gary Hall jnr drives Manhattan Moon from the favourable No. 2 barrier on the front line.
Prentice trained and drove Mighty Ronaldo and Tricky Miki for their fast-finishing Slipper victories in 2020 and 2021 before Hall drove the hot favourite and Prentice-trained Never Ending to an easy all-the-way win over Skylord and Lusaka last year.
Hall, who also won the 2014 Golden Slipper with Beaudiene Boaz, has driven Manhattan Moon five times for a Pinjarra win, three Gloucester Park seconds and one Gloucester Park fifth placing.
Dylan Egerton-Green drove Manhattan Moon in a 2130m event at Gloucester Park last Friday night when the gelding, a $26.70 chance, enjoyed a perfect run in third place, three back on the pegs, before finishing strongly to win by a length from Arma Believe.
Hall is in devastating form in the sulky, and his faithful fans cashed in handsomely when he drove four winners at Bunbury on Wednesday afternoon. He scored with Heartofahlia ($2), Ekara Navajo ($1.20), Never Ending ($1.04) and Disco Dynamo ($59.10).
Egerton-Green has two runners in Friday night’s big race ---Grand Couteau and Cork Can Run. He will drive Grand Couteau from the No. 3 barrier on the front line, and he has engaged Chris Lewis, fresh from his 6000TH victory at Pinjarra on Monday, to handle Cork Can Run from the outside of the back line.
“Grand Couteau ran the quickest last half (28.56sec.) in the Westbred Classic for fillies last Friday week,” he said. Grand Couteau put up a tremendous performance to finish fourth behind Xceptional Arma. She was eleventh at the bell and was hampered by a punctured sulky tyre.
Grand Couteau and Xceptional Arma are the only fillies in Friday night’s classic. Egerton-Green said he expected both fillies to perform strongly, pointing out that Xceptional Arma rated 1.56.8 in winning the Westbred Classic for fillies and Menemsha rated 1.56.7 in winning the Westbred Classic for colts and geldings.
“Grand Couteau is a nice little sit and kick horse, and if they go hard, I’m sure she will be getting home good,” he said.
Xceptional Arma, to be driven by Maddison Brown, will start from barrier five. She has won at six of her eleven starts for trainer Colin Brown, who has won the Golden Slipper as a driver with Western Apache (2003) and Ohokas Bondy (2010).
Fillies face a tough task, with only eight winning in the 55-year history of the classic --- Sordice (1968), Omista (1971), Via Vista (1980), Mazzini Magic (1988), Whitbys Miss Penny (1990), Whitbys Merit (1993), Spirit Of Navajo (2005) and Arma Xpress (2012).
Lewis holds the Golden Slipper record as a driver --- with eight victories --- with Pardon Me Boys (1987), Harry Gunn (1995), Saab (1997), Talladega (1999), The Jobs On (2004), Aikido Whitby (2006), Western Cullen (2011) and Jack Mac (2017).
Egerton-Green does not dismiss the claims of Cork Can Run, saying: “He went very well when held up and finishing fourth behind Menemsha in the Westbred Classic.”
Champion trainers Greg and Skye Bond will be pinning their hopes on Vegas Strip (barrier four), Ten To The Dozen (barrier nine) and Thelittle Master (barrier two on the back line).
The Bond stable has won the Golden Slipper with Ohokas Bondy in 2010 and Mitch Maguire in 2016. Deni Roberts, who finished third with the Bond-trained Lusaka in last year’s Slipper, will handle the New Zealand-bred Vegas Strip, who has raced three times in Western Australia for all-the-way wins over 1609m at Bunbury and over 2130m at Gloucester Park and a close second to Grevis after setting the pace over 1730m.
Ten To The Dozen, a winner at five of his 12 starts, will be driven by Stuart McDonald, and Mitch Miller will drive Thelittle Master, who also has won at five of his 12 starts.
Katie Howlett trains the polemarker Brought To Light, who will be driven by Chris Voak. She will be hoping to emulate the performance of her father Barry Howlett, who prepared Jack Mac for his brilliant victory in 2017.
Ryan Bell trains the speedy Heez A Vibe, who will start from the No. 6 barrier with Kyle Symington in the sulky. Heez A Vibe gave a sample of his class four starts ago when he led and won from Franco Encore and Menemsha.
Young looking for Patched to improve
Pinjarra trainer David Young holds a strong hand in the Chris Lewis 6000 Wins Trot at Gloucester Park on Friday night with two of the eight runners --- Patched and Thats Not My Gait.
The six-year-old Patched has a splendid record of 15 wins and 19 placings from 53 starts, but he disappointed Young when he raced at the rear and finished a well-beaten sixth behind Our Maestoso in a field of nine over 2692m at Pinjarra last Monday week.
“Blood tests showed that his first-up run (a fortnight earlier when third to Our Maestoso at Gloucester Park) hurt him a lot more than I realised,” he said. “It took a fair bit out of him, but the vet is confident that I could turn him around pretty quickly.
“I’ve changed a few things around and I’m hoping we will see the old Patched this week. I’ve always thought that Patched was the best trotter here, and he can definitely beat Tricky Ric on Friday night. We have changed his workload and are doing some sprint training instead of the long stamina training, trying to re-sharpen him up again.”
Aiden De Campo has chosen to drive Patched, who will start from the outside barrier in the field of eight, ahead of Thats Not My Gait, who will be handled by Trent Wheeler from the No. 3 barrier.
Thats Not My Gait is a consistent mare whose 51 starts have produced eleven wins, 14 seconds and five thirds. She has been placed at Pinjarra and Gloucester Park at her past two starts, following wins at Pinjarra and Gloucester Park at her two previous outings.
“Thats Not My Gait lacks brilliance but what she lacks in brilliance she makes up for in toughness,” said Young. “I’ll leave the tactics up to Trent. She probably should have nearly won, even off 70 metres at her latest start (when third behind Bee Bee Beroc). She hung really badly around the final bend. So, I’ve changed some head gear, hoping that will help to straighten her up. “
Patched won the Trotters Cup last February, with Tricky Ric, starting off the 40m mark, finishing sixth, four lengths behind the winner. It was a tremendous performance by Tricky Ric, who settled down at the rear in the field of eleven before dashing forward, three wide, to race in the breeze for almost two laps.
Trainer Gary Hall snr said he was pleased with Tricky Ric’s first-up second to Our Maestoso at Pinjarra last Monday week when he ran on strongly from sixth at the bell. “He came from a mile back,” said Hall.
Former Victorian trotter Robbie Royale will be making his first appearance at Gloucester Park for trainer Barry Howlett and reinsman Shannon Suvaljko. He had a tough run in the breeze at his WA debut when third behind Our Maestoso last Monday week.
Another former Victorian performer Scootin Around is the likely pacemaker and should fight out the finish. The chestnut’s first four WA starts have resulted in two wins and a second placing at Pinjarra.
Ima Fivestar General to resume
Talented six-year-old Ima Fivestar General has won over a variety of distances from 1730m to 2631m, but there is little doubt that he shines over sprint trips and will be ideally suited on his return to racing after a spell when he contests the Countryman Pace over 1730m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Trainer-reinsman Robbie Williams is looking forward to a successful campaign with the New Zealand-bred gelding who will start from barrier five on Friday night.
Ima Fivestar General has won twice over 1980m, once over 1780m and his four starts over 1730m have produced two wins and two seconds.
His latest runs over 1730m were at Gloucester Park in June this year when he was a $30.40 outsider from the outside barrier in the field of eight and finished powerfully from seventh at the bell to win from the pacemaker Whos The Dad, rating 1.54.9, and when he trailed the pacemaker Magnificent Storm and finished second to the star pacer who rated 1.52.5 in the field of four runners.
“He loves the mile,” said Williams. “He has had enough work and will go into this week’s race nice and fresh. Watts Up Sunshine looks the leader, with Classic Choice likely to be in the breeze, so it should work out fine for us, being able to slot in and have a nice soft trip.
“He is capable of winning. In my opinion, he and Valentines Brook are the best two horses in the race, with Ima Fivestar General’s fitness being the only query. I definitely give him a chance, and I do know that after two to three runs he will be a lot sharper.
“There is nothing too serious planned for him, but he has the ability, and we will just press on and see where he gets to.”
Watts Up Sunshine, to be driven by Gary Hall jnr for trainer Michael Young, is ideally drawn at barrier one, and he is race hardened, as well as being a noted frontrunner with an excellent record in sprint events, having won six times over 1609m, once over 1720m, and twice each over 1730m and 1660m.
It is significant that Watts Up Sunshine has set the pace in 16 of his 20 wins.
Valentines Brook, trained by Jocelyn Young and to be driven by Kyle Symington, has been racing competitively in stronger fields and will have many admirers, even from his awkward draw at barrier eight.
Paul Edward set to make amends
Smart four-year-old Paul Edward was surprisingly beaten when a $1.24 favourite in a 2185m event at Pinjarra last Monday week, but Serpentine trainer-reinsman Dylan Egerton-Green is confident he will make amends and return to the winning list when he begins from the prized No. 1 barrier in the 7News Pace over 1730m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Pasul Edward set the pace from barrier two and dashed over the final three quarters in 28.8sec., 28.6sec. and 27.8sec. and was beaten by a short half-head by the fast-finishing Miss Sassy at Pinjarra.
“He was racing first-up for four weeks,” explained Egerton-Green. “He ran a solid last 1200m and just got nutted by a horse who is going really well. The 1730m will suit him, even though leading has never been his best asset. However, I’ll be keen to lead over the sprint trip. He led and won as a two-year-old (in October 2021) and he led and won over 2130m in January this year.”
Love On The Rocks appeals as Paul Edward’s most serious rival. He worked hard without cover when third behind Seeryanfly and My Little Big Man in a 2503m stand last Friday night when making his Australian debut. He will be tested from out wide at barrier seven over the sprint journey.
Egerton-Green is also looking forward to driving Patronus Star in the $31,000 Streamer.com Past Presidents Cup over 2130m. Patronus Star, trained by Greg and Skye Bond, will start from barrier five and his clash with stablemate Tenzing Bromac, Prince Of Pleasure and the speedy Pinny Tiger should be a highlight on the 11-event program.
Deni Roberts will be anxious to take full advantage of the No. 1 barrier by attempting to hold the lead with Tenzing Bromac against fast beginners Prince Of Pleasure (barrier two) and Pinny Tiger (barrier three).
Tenzing Bromac is racing in wonderful form and is sure to prove hard to beat, while Prince Of Pleasure appears best suited by leading –-- which he has done in winning over 2130m at his past two starts.
“They might run it hard, and that would suit Prince Of Pleasure,” said trainer Gary Hall snr.
