by Ken Casellas
Leading reinsman Chris Lewis is looking forward to driving top-flight filly Maczaffair for the first time when she contests the In Memory of Ron Percival Pace over 1730m at Gloucester Park on Friday night. Lewis replaces Shannon Suvaljko, who is serving a term of suspension.
Maczaffair, trained by Mike Reed, will be having her second start after an eleven and a half-week absence and she will need to be close to her top to overcome the disadvantage of starting from the outside (barrier nine) over a sprint journey.
The Mach Three filly resumed in a heat of the Breeders Crown at Gloucester Park on Monday afternoon when she finished a close second to Better B Chevron in a field of four. The winner rated 1.57.6 over 2130m and the final three quarters were run in 29.5sec., 27.3sec. and 28.1sec. Maczaffair settled in last position in the field of four before Suvaljko moved her into the breeze in the middle stages. She fought on determinedly.
Lewis, who finished fourth with Lady Luca in that race, had a good look at Maczaffair and he said that she looked slightly underdone. “Just looking at her, I thought she was just short of a run,” he said. “And it was no disgrace to be beaten by a very good filly. You’d expect her to be right in the finish on Friday night.”
Maczaffair is the class filly in Friday night’s race, having earned $235,415 from ten wins and seven placings from 22 starts. She won the Group 3 Gold Bracelet as a two-year-old and earlier this season she was successful in the Group 2 Dainty’s Daughter Classic and Group 1 WA Oaks.
Her stiffest opposition this week is likely to come from the Justin Prentice-trained trio of Pick My Pocket, Allamerican Queen and Somewhereonlyiknow. Prentice, who also has Lady Luca engaged in the race, has opted to handle the consistent Pick My Pocket.
Lewis will also replace Suvaljko behind Rycroft in the In Memory of Les Marriott Handicap, a stand over 2503m. Rycroft, a winner of a 2503m stand four starts ago, looks well placed off the front and is sure to be prominent.
Gary Hall Jnr gives front marker Whozideawasthis a good chance in this event after the six-year-old’s sound run at his WA debut last Friday night when he raced wide in the middle stages and then in the breeze before fighting on doggedly to be a half-length second to the pacemaker Dana Duke in a 2130m mobile in which the final 800m was covered in 56.8sec.
“I’m not sure how he gets away in a stand,” Hall said. “If he jumps to the front he’ll be hard to beat. He’s also good with a sit. It was a good first-up run last week.”
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