16 August 2018 | Ken Casellas
Ace reinsman Mark Reed drove the speedy Pazam to six victories at the turn of the century and he is confident of continuing the family tradition by winning races with promising two-year-old filly Countess Grace.
Trained by Reed’s father Mike, Countess Grace is closely related to Pazam, who won 19 races in Western Australia in a splendid 41-start career of 22 wins and six placings for stakes of $136,113.
Mark Reed was in the sulky when the New Zealand-bred Pazam won for the final time, at Gloucester Park in February 2004 when he beat The Die Is Cast and Sand Pebbles in a 2140m Free-For-All. He also drove Pazam when he finished sixth behind Lombo Rapida and Shakamaker in the 2000 Chariots of Fire at Harold Park.
Countess Grace emerged as a strong winning prospect in the Glenroy Chaff Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night when she unwound a spirited finishing burst to be an eye-catching third behind Fake News and Major Artist over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Tuesday evening.
Countess Grace was restrained from barrier eight at the start and settled down in 11th position. She was seventh at the bell, three back on the pegs, before sprouting wings in the home straight, with the final 400m being covered in a slick 28.1sec.
Countess Grace has drawn the prized No. 1 barrier in Friday night’s $18,000 event and Mark Reed said: “She will give them something to chase. She has good gate speed, the aim will be to lead and I consider her to have excellent winning prospects.
“She was unlucky at her previous start when third behind Majorpride and Fake News. She raced behind the pacemaker Cosmic Horizons and was shuffled back when that filly weakened and dropped back in the final stages.”
Majorpride, Fake News and Countess Grace should dominate Friday night’s race in which Countess Grace has a significant advantage over the other two fillies, who will start out wide, with Fake News at barrier seven and Majorpride on the outside in the field of eight.
Fake News, trained by Gary Hall Snr, was impressive on Tuesday evening when she enjoyed the perfect trail behind the pacemaker Major Artist before running home fast to snatch victory for star reinsman Gary Hall Jnr.
However, Hall Jnr has decided to drive the Justin Prentice-trained Majorpride in preference to Fake News. “There’s not much between them, but Majorpride is probably a bit more of a racehorse at the moment,” he said. Majorpride has raced ten times for three wins, three seconds and two thirds.
Mark Reed will fly out of Perth early on Saturday morning to drive star filly Our Angel of Harlem in the second semi-final of the Breeders Crown for three-year-old fillies at Bendigo on Saturday night.
Our Angel of Harlem, trained by Mike Reed, has drawn poorly and will start from the outside (barrier three) on the back line. However, she is in top form and should have little difficulty in qualifying for the final the following week.
Western Australia will also be represented in semi-finals of the Breeders Crown on Saturday night by the Michael Brennan-trained The Embezzler and the David Thompson-trained Mandy Joan.
Michael Grantham will drive The Embezzler from the outside (No. 7) on the front line in the first semi-final for two-year-old colts and geldings. A winner at four of his eight starts and a strong fourth behind Franco Edward in the Pearl Classic, The Embezzler has won at Pinjarra at his past two starts. He possesses wonderful gate speed and is sure to make his presence felt.
Mandy Joan also has drawn barrier seven in the second semi-final for two-year-old fillies in which she will be handled by champion Victorian reinsman Gavin Lang. She has won twice from seven starts and is working strongly enough to qualify for the final.
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