19 October 2017 | Ken Casellas
Champion trainer Gary Hall Snr has prepared five of the past 15 winners of the Mount Eden Sprint and he has high hopes that two of his stable stars will fight out the finish of the Group 2 $50,000 Perth Plasterboard Centre feature event over 1730m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
He will be represented by the New Zealand-bred trio of Chicago Bull, Ohoka Punter and Run Oneover and is finding it difficult to separate Chicago Bull and Ohoka Punter as the stable’s best winning chance.
Star reinsman Gary Hall Jnr will stick with superstar Chicago Bull and young reinsman Stuart McDonald has been engaged to drive eight-year-old Ohoka Punter, who is favourably drawn at barrier No. 2 on the front line in a top-class field of ten.
Ohoka Punter will be having his first start for five months and has not been produced at trials, while five-year-old Chicago Bull will be having his eighth start in his current preparation. Both are leading candidates for the rich TABtouch Inter Dominion championship which will get underway with the first set of qualifying heats on November 24.
Asked for his thoughts on the race, Hall Snr said: “I’d say that if Ohoka Punter leads, he should win. I also reckon he’s a definite chance in the Inters. I like the horse a lot. He lacks a little bit of point-to-point speed, but he’s very strong.
“Chicago Bull also will perform very well. He’s got a few options as the only runner off the back line.”
Hall also has a lot of respect for the Kim Prentice-trained Soho Tribeca, who will start from barrier three. “Chicago Bull has never beaten Soho Tribeca when he (Soho Tribeca) has drawn better — or vice-versa,” he said. “I don’t think there’s much between them. Soho Tribeca is probably a better stayer, but Chicago Bull’s point-to-point speed is better.
“Nathan Turvey will drive Run Oneover and he’ll go back from barrier five. We’re trying to teach him to settle in his races.” Run Oneover also drew barrier five in last year’s Mount Eden Sprint (which was surprisingly run over 2130m). He enjoyed the one-out, one-back trail and ran on to take a very narrow lead 60m from the post before finishing a close second to the pacemaker and 5/4 on favourite Libertybelle Midfrew.
McDonald is excited at the prospect of driving Ohoka Punter for the first time in a race. “I’m very much looking forward to the experience,” he said. “He’s a very good horse and I’m thankful for Senior (Hall Snr) for asking the owners to agree to having me drive the horse. I have had plenty of trackwork drives on him and he’s working super.”
Ohoka Punter, a striking stallion who will boost his earnings past the $1 million mark if he is successful on Friday night, has been sparingly raced, with his 56 starts producing 25 wins and 23 placings. He has had a spell since finishing a close third behind Heez On Fire and Run Oneover at Gloucester Park on May 19.
An attack of colic, followed by a lung infection, forced Ohoka Punter to miss the Inter Dominion championship series late last year.
Soho Tribeca’s has resumed after a short spell in dazzling form and he will have many admirers. At his most recent appearance, last Friday week, he settled down in ninth position and moved to seventh at the bell before sustaining a powerful three-wide burst to finish a head second to the frontrunning Shandale over 2130m when the final three quarters whizzed by in 28.5sec., 27.4sec. and 28.7sec.
“I think that was the best I’ve had a horse perform for me,” said Prentice. “I was so proud of him. He really surprised me how close he got; he wasn’t entitled to get that close.
“This week it will be tough from barrier three. He most likely will be in the breeze outside Ohoka Punter, with Chicago Bull on our back. If My Hard Copy holds the lead from the inside barrier, I can see myself being three wide for the trip. So, I hope that doesn’t happen.
“His main aim is the Inter Dominion and he is still getting worked towards that.”
Shandale, trained by Mike Reed and driven by Shannon Suvaljko, will start from the No. 4 barrier and faces a stern test. The five-year-old stallion was outstanding at his latest appearance when he was checked early, took the lead after 400m, set a bold pace and won narrowly from Soho Tribeca, with Chicago Bull in third placed.
“Shandale’s previous trainer spoke to Mike Reed and said that he considered that was the horse’s best win,” Suvaljko said. “However, I think Shandale will get better. I reckon he’s still only about 75 per cent and I’m sure he will get fitter and harder.
“He has shown his liking for 1730m, having won twice, rating 1.53.8 and 1.53.7, after racing in the breeze,” he said. Shandale also won over 1730m, rating 1.54.7 at his West Australian debut and has yet to be beaten over this distance.
“This looks his biggest test so far,” Suvaljko said. “We’ve got a couple of options. We don’t have to go forward; we can just slot in.”
Suvaljko has won the Mount Eden Sprint behind the Tony Svilicich-trained Real Life in 2010 and the Reed-trained Libertybelle Midfrew last year.
Clint Hall, who drove Run Oneover when second in last year’s event, hopes to go one better this year when he drives dual WA Pacing Cup winner My Hard Copy from the prized No. 1 barrier. He was in the sulky when My Hard Copy flew home from eighth at the bell to be a neck second to Waylade in the Mount Eden Sprint in November 2015.
My Hard Copy has not raced since September 22 when he started from the No. 1 barrier and was in front for the first 400m before handing up the lead to Americanbootscoota in the 2130m Navy Cup. He fought on gamely when third to Chicago Bull and Americanbootscoota.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
