27 April 2020 | Ken Casellas
Ocean Ridge upsets stars
Champion trainers Greg and Skye Bond have always been great admirers of There’s A Dancer, a modest performer on the racetrack in New Zealand, and their judgment and faith in her as a broodmare was further vindicated when Ocean Ridge stormed home to beat star pacers Shockwave and Chicago Bull in the Perth Plasterboard Centre Memorial Day Stakes at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
They train and own in partnership with Rob and Anne Gartrell, Ocean Ridge, a highly-promising New Zealand-bred gelding who has won at ten of his 25 starts in Western Australia.
Ocean Ridge is the third foal out of the Falcon Seelster mare There’s A Dancer (who managed just four wins from 32 starts) and he has the potential to figure prominently in the rich Fremantle Cup and WA Pacing Cup early next year.
The Bonds also purchased There’s A Dancer’s first two foals, Bracken Ridge and McClinchie.
Bracken Ridge won at three of his 12 starts in WA in 2015 and 2016, scoring at Kellerberrin, Gloucester Park and Narrogin, and McClinchie had 26 starts for the Bonds for ten wins and eight placings before being sold to America.
A masterly drive by leading reinsman Ryan Warwick paved the way for Ocean Ridge’s surprise victory at $20.30 over Shockwave ($2.50) and Chicago Bull ($2.05), brilliant pacers who were widely predicted to fight out the finish of the 2536m event.
Ocean Ridge started from the inside of the back line and Warwick drove him patiently, three back on the inside, behind pegs runners Talktomeurmattjesty and Our Jimmy Johnstone. Halfway down the back straight in the final circuit Ocean Ridge was hopelessly hemmed in, seemingly with nowhere to go.
But Warwick, almost miraculously was able to ease the gelding off the pegs 470m from home to follow Chicago Bull, who was charging forward. Chicago Bull got to the front with about 300m to travel before being overtaken on the home turn by Shockwave, who then had Ocean Ridge on his back.
Ocean Ridge responded grandly to Warwick’s urgings and he got up in the final couple of strides to beat Shockwave by a head, rating 1.55.4, with the final 400m being covered in a slick 27.7sec.
Our Jimmy Johnstone fought on to finish fourth. He led for the first 700m before Kyle Harper sent the freewheeling Talktomeurmattjesty to the front. Chicago Bull, from barrier seven, was trapped three wide in the early stages before Gary Hall jnr restrained him to last in the field of twelve, 50 metres from the leaders.
Chicago Bull dashed forward, three wide, at the 1400m, a move which flushed out Shockwave, who got to the breeze before Chicago Bull passed him at the bell, giving him the one-out, one-back trail.
Hall bided his time in the breeze before sending Chicago Bull to the front with 300m to travel. Shockwave then gained the upper hand on the home turn and held his rival at bay in the home straight before being overhauled by the flying Ocean Ridge on the line.
An untimely injury forced Ocean Ridge to miss the rich classics for four-year-olds, including the 2018 Golden Nugget, and he was out of action for 14 months. He has made a full recovery and this season his 19 starts have produced six wins, four seconds and a third placing.
He showed abundant early promise in New Zealand, finishing third at each of his first three starts as a two-year-old before finishing strongly from last to finish an eye-catching fifth behind Mach Shard and Spankem in the group 1 Young Guns Cardigan Bay Stakes at Alexandra Park.
Lavra Joe poised for stardom
Stylish colt Lavra Joe looks set for stardom after outclassing his rivals in the $40,000 Champagne Classic for two-year-olds at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Favourite at $1.30 from the No. barrier, Lavra Joe gave champion horseman Chris Lewis an armchair drive as he was untroubled to set the pace and career away from his rivals with a final quarter of 27.2sec. to beat Overjoyed by three and a half lengths at a 1.58.8 rate over 2130m.
Trained by Greenbushes cattle farmer Ray Jones, Lavra Joe will contest three group 1 events over the next three months, providing he maintains his fitness and form.
At this stage he looks the testing material in the Pearl on June 12, the Westbred Classic on June 26 and the Golden Slipper on July 10.
Jones, who has always had a good eye for a young horse, was highly impressed when he watched Lavra Joe as a yearling prancing around in a paddock at breeder Kevin Charles’ property last year. The colt was passed in at the 2019 WA yearling sale when he failed to reach his reserve price of $25,000 and then Jones was able to negotiate with Charles and buy the colt by American stallion Roll With Joe for $22,500.
Already Lavra Joe, who is raced by Jones and his partner Sayjai Sakaew, has earned $47,070 from four wins and two third placings from eight starts.
His easy victory gave Lewis a record eighth success in the Champagne Classic, following wins with Pardon Me Boys (1987), Talladega (1999), Wirrpunda (2001), All Four Firing (2002), Slick Operator (2003), David Hercules (2009) and Mister Jadore (2013).
The Buckeye Bullet completes a Bond treble
Leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond completed a winning treble at Gloucester Park on Friday night when The Buckeye Bullet overcame a scratchy start at the stand to score an easy victory in the 2503m Catalano Truck And Equipment Handicap.
The Bonds had earlier been successful with Kingslayer and Ocean Ridge and they now hold an unassailable lead on the WA trainers’ premiership table with 131 wins, well ahead of Ross Olivieri (73), Gary Hall snr (63), Justin Prentice (54) and Aiden de Campo (53).
The Buckeye Bullet, favourite at $2.80 and driven by Dylan Egerton-Green, galloped for three or five strides and lost three lengths. But he quickly made up the lost ground and dashed past On My Oath and into the lead after 350m.
From then it was a cakewalk for The Buckeye Bullet, who coasted home to win by 7m from the fast-finishing Miss Sangrial ($9) who started off the 30m mark and improved from ninth at the bell. The victory gave Egerton-Green his 59TH winner for the season.
Four-year-old The Buckeye Bullet now has made four appearances in stands for three wins and a second. After a win and a placing from two starts in New Zealand the son of American sire Well Said has raced 16 times in Western Australia for eight wins and five placings. He is the 14TH foal out of New Zealand mare Titan Bloss.
The Bird Dance, a four-year-old stablemate of The Buckeye Bullet, failed in his first appearance in a stand, starting off the 20m mark and finishing eighth after racing in eighth position and out wide in the final lap.
Former Victorian performer GI Joe finished last at his WA debut. He was trapped four wide early, was restrained to the rear, paced roughly and moved up to the breeze after just over a lap before fading in the final circuit.
Millwood Molly a Breeders Stakes prospect
Millwood Molly, a sparingly-raced seven-year-old, gave a bold frontrunning display to win the Garrard’s Horse And Hound Johnson final at Gloucester Park on Friday night and showed that she would be a leading candidate for the $40,000 WASBA Breeders Stakes next Friday week.
Driven by her trainer Aiden de Campo, Millwood Molly, second fancy at $3.30, sped straight to the front, while one of her chief rivals and last-start winner Typhoon Tiff ($5.50) broke in the early stages and dropped back to the rear.
Balcatherine, the $2.90 favourite, started from the back line and was urged forward, three wide and into the breeze after 550m before Pick My Pocket sustained a three-wide burst to assume the breeze position 250m later.
Balcatherine vacated the one-out, one-back position 520m from home to issue a three-wide challenge. She fought on determinedly to finish second, with Has No Fear ($31) coming from three back on the pegs to be third, ahead of Countess Grace, who finished solidly from last on the pegs at the bell. Dracarys fought on, out six wide, to finish seventh.
The New Zealand-bred Millwood Molly, who rated 1.56.9, has earned $113,127 from 11 wins and ten placings from 37 starts.
Star Fromthepalace ready to go
Talented filly Star Fromthepalace, who is related to former champion millionaire pacers Chokin and Changeover, is ready to fire in the $150,000 WA Oaks next Friday night after another dashing victory at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Star Fromthepalace, the $1.60 favourite for Byford trainer Peter Anderson and reinsman Aldo Cortopassi, set a strong pace and won convincingly from rank outsiders Missbillynotsilly ($101) and Rockin The Trend ($151), covering the 2130m in 2min.34.3sec. and rating 1.56.6.
This compared favourably with another Oaks candidate Fifty Five Reborn, who won over 2130m with a gross time of 2min. 36.7sec. (a 1.58.4 rate) in an earlier event on Friday night.
Star Fromthepalace, by Follow The Stars, is out of the unraced mare From The Palace and now has had 24 starts for five wins, nine placings and earnings of $68,665.
Star Fromthepalace was not challenged at any stage as she bowled along in front and won by one and a half lengths. The unlucky runner was Blockjorg ($17), who finished fourth after enjoying no luck at all. After starting out wide at barrier seven, Blockjorg settled at the rear and was seventh at the bell before being badly hampered for room in the back straight.
She was last at the 500m mark and did not get clear until late when she finished fast. Alta Louisa, second favourite at $3 from the outside barrier at No. 9, never got into the race. She was sixth, three wide, at the bell and finished sixth.
Oaks the target for Fifty Five Reborn
Banjup trainer-reinsman Colin Brown has Fifty Five Reborn fit and firing and ready for a strong performance in the $150,000 WA Oaks next Friday night.
The WA-bred filly was all the rage as the $1.40 favourite for the 2130m Specialised Equipment Funding Solutions Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night when she led from the No. 1 barrier, and after a smart lead time of 36.9sec. was able to amble through the first quarters of the final mile in 32.1sec. and 31.7sec. before giving her rivals little chance by speeding over the final 400m sections in 28.6sec. and 27.5sec.
Fifty Five Reborn was not extended in winning by one and a half lengths from the fast-finishing My Sweet Deal ($12), with a head to Intheskyrocket ($8.50) in third place.
My Sweet Deal maintained her consistent form and did well to finish solidly from seventh at the bell. Intheskyrocket enjoyed a perfect sit behind the pacemaker throughout.
Fifty Five Reborn, by Renaissance Man and the first foal out of the unraced mare Arma Fifty Five, has had 12 starts for five wins and two seconds for $59,003 in prizemoney.
Six in a row for Papinik
Lightly-raced four-year-old Papinik continued on his winning ways and chalked up his sixth win in a row when he finished full of running to defeat the pacemaker Roman Art in the TABtouch Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Given a perfect passage in the one-out, one-back position by Mitch Miller, the Ross Olivieri-trained Papinik burst to the front on the home turn to win by two metres, rating 1.58.2.
Miller now has driven Papinik three times for three wins and the event billed as a match race between the Advance Attack gelding and Roman Art, certainly developed into a battle between the only four-year-olds in the race. Roman Art, who also went into the race with a string of five successive victories, was a $3.40 chance from the No. 1 barrier, with Papinik, from barrier two, the $2.40 favourite.
Chris Voak, who had driven Papinik to four victories, was able to defy an early challenge for the lead from Carramar Arapaho, and the Victor Bryers-trained Roman Art was able to stroll through the lead time in a casual 38.7sec. and the opening quarter in a slow 32.4sec.
Roman Art then sprinted the third quarter in a swift 27.3sec. and covered the final 400m in 27.9sec. But he was no match for the fast-finishing Papinik, who now has raced only nine times for seven wins and two thirds for earnings of $35,594.
Papinik is the ninth foal out of Artists Impression, who was retired after one placing from three starts in 2001. Artists Impression has produced seven winners, including Heez On Fire, who earned $287,607 from 20 wins and eight placings from 52 starts. He won the group 2 Westbred Classic for two-year-old colts and geldings in June 2012 and the group 2 San Simeon final in January 2014. He also finished third behind Nowitzki in the Golden Nugget championship in December 2013.
Bettor Be Oscar maintains top form
WA-bred four-year-old Bettor Be Oscar maintained his wonderfully consistent form when he proved the master of his older rivals in the 2130m Retravision Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The Bettors Delight gelding, trained and driven by Aiden de Campo, has certainly inherited much of the ability of his sire and his dam, Copper Beach Girl, who earned $156,851 from 14 wins and 24 placings. Bettor Be Oscar now has had 44 starts for 12 wins, 21 placings and $99,807 in stakes.
Bettor Be Oscar is the second and last foal out of Copper Beach Girl, who died a few years ago. Copper Beach Girl’s first foal was Topless Beach Girl, who managed one win and ten placings from 21 starts in 2015 and 2016.
Bettor Be Oscar started from the inside of the back line and was a $5.70 chance, with Mr Kiwi, at his Australian debut, a warm favourite at $1.75.
Qtown Rip Roaring led early from barrier one before stablemate Brookies Jet dashed to the front. Mr Kiwi raced wide early before moving into the breeze after about 450m, with Bettor Be Oscar travelling well three back on the pegs. Mr Kiwi broke into a gallop approaching the bell and dropped back to finish a distant last.
Bettor Be Oscar forged to the front 300m from home and won at a 1.56.1 rate from the strong-finishing Qtown Rip Roaring, with Marquisard running home solidly to be third.
Sergeant Oats at odds-on
Consistent and reliable WA-bred six-year-old Sergeant Oats was in an unusual position as the $1.80 favourite for the 2130m Westral Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night. It was the first time he had started at odds-on since he was at $1.90 when he led and finished second to Golden State at Gloucester Park 26 starts earlier.
However, this time he justified the short quote, with Shannon Suvaljko making the most of the coveted No. 1 barrier by setting the pace and scoring a comfortable victory over Soho Thunderstruck, who fought on gamely after following the pacemaker throughout.
Sergeant Oats, who rated 1.57 and is part-owned and trained by Courtney Burch, has been a good moneyspinner, earning $141,688 from 12 wins and 17 placings from 51 starts. Suvaljko has formed an excellent association with the gelding and has handled him at seven of his victories.
Kingslayer makes it eight from 12
Lightly-raced New Zealand-bred six-year-old Kingslayer is proving a splendid acquisition for leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond and looks set for many more wins.
He improved his record in Western Australia to eight wins and two placings from 12 starts when he gave star reinsman Ryan Warwick an armchair drive on the way to an easy all-the-way victory over Valbonne and Always An Honour in the 2130m Direct Trades Supply Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Warwick took full advantage of the No. 1 barrier by sending Kingslayer, the $2.20 favourite and $1.85 on the fixed market, straight to the front and setting a solid pace before sprinting over the final quarters in 27.8sec. and 28.1sec.
Free-For-All performer Im Soxy was dropping back in grade and was a firm second fancy at $2.40. After starting from barrier five and racing three wide early, Im Soxy was restrained by Gary Hall jnr to sixth in the one-wide line. Hall then put Im Soxy into the race by sending him forward to the breeze 1200m from home. But he did not seriously challenge Kingslayer and wilted to finish fourth.
Kingslayer, who has earned $77,155 from 12 wins and six placings from 27 starts, is by Christian Cullen and is the first foal out of Bettors Delight mare Millwood Manhattan, who was retired after winning at three of her 19 starts and earning $40,364.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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