23 July 2020 | Ken Casellas
Talented horseman Dylan Egerton-Green was 14,880km from Perth two years ago when he notched an important win as a trainer with Colin Brown driving $16.40 chance Tyler Brett to victory in the John Higgins Memorial at Gloucester Park.
Now Egerton-Green has high hopes of winning the group 3 feature event as a driver with the youngest pacer in the field, three-year-old Parmesan, who has drawn the coveted No. 1 barrier in the 2130m event at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Egerton-Green has yet to sit behind Parmesan, who has been handled by star reinsman Ryan Warwick at 16 of his 17 starts. Egerton-Green is looking forward to the opportunity to drive Parmesan, with Warwick on the sidelines, serving a term of suspension
The New Zealand-bred Parmesan, prepared by champion trainers Greg and Skye Bond, boasts an outstanding record of 12 wins and two placings from his 17 starts. He is a splendid frontrunner and there is no doubt that Egerton-Green will be attempting an all-the-way victory in the 2130m event.
The Bonds have an excellent record in the Higgins Memorial, with Greg preparing Money Magnet (2004) and Richard Henry (2005) for their wins, and Greg and Skye the successful trainers of Delightful Offer (2015) and Rock Diamonds (2017). Kevin Jeavons, a part-owner of Parmesan, has tasted success in the Higgins Memorial with Masterclass, a star pacer he raced in partnership with his wife Robyn, who was successful in 1996.
Egerton-Green said he was in Ireland to attend a wedding on the outskirts of Dublin two years ago when Tyler Brett won the Higgins Memorial, and he is optimistic about Parmesan’s prospects this week, saying: “He looks a nice horse, and looking at his races, it appears though he does just what he has to.”
Egerton-Green is in top form in the sulky, having driven the final three winners on the program at Pinjarra on Monday afternoon and another winner at Gloucester Park on Tuesday evening. At Pinjarra, he was successful with the Vanessa Brockman-trained three-year-old Auckland Jet and the Bond-trained pair of Patronus Star and Donegal Art Chokin.
He then drove three-year-old filly Weewah at Gloucester Park the next day. This victory brought up a memorable milestone for the Bonds their 200TH training success for the season. They now have an outstanding record this season of 604 starters for 200 wins, 104 seconds and 51 thirds.
Parmesan was untroubled to lead and win a heat of the Higgins at Bunbury last Saturday week when he covered the final quarters in 28.2sec. and 28sec. Warwick had to drive him hard in the home straight and the gelding won by just 1.8m from Millwood Gucci. However, this is typical of his racing habits. In some of his races he appears to be struggling, but he responds grandly to the urgings of the driver.
On paper, Friday night’s race appears to be a match between Parmesan and the WA-bred four-year-old To Fast To Serious, who goes into the race with a winning sequence of five and an overall record of 16 starts for 11 wins and two seconds.
To Fast To Serious is trained at Mt Helena by Ray Williams, who prepared Pacific Warrior for his short half-head victory over Condrieu in the 2013 Higgins Memorial.
To Fast To Serious fared badly in the random draw and will start from the outside (barrier No. 9) on the front line. Aldo Cortopassi, who has driven the Shadow Play gelding in all of his starts, is not dismayed at the poor draw and said he still considered the event to be a match race between To Fast To Serious and Parmesan.
“To Fast To Serious has got the speed,” he said. “Barrier nine is barrier nine and I’ll light the fuse at some stage. We won’t light it at the start; we’ll drive sit-sprint and the tempo of the race will determine when we go. We’ve got versatility and if we get a good crack at them, Parmesan will know we’re there.
“He can run a sub-55sec. half and he showed at Pinjarra (four starts ago when he sprinted over the final quarters in 27.2sec. and 27.6sec.) that he can sprint a good thousand metres.”
While Parmesan and To Fast To Serious are lightly raced and up-and-coming stars, 19-year-old trainer-driver Corey Peterson said he was looking forward to the challenge of driving his five-year-old One For Dave Andme, a veteran of 89 starts for only six wins, from the inside of the back line.
One For Dave Andme has won at three of his past nine starts and impressed last Friday night when he came from the rear with a three-wide burst in the first lap to race without cover for the rest of the event in which he fought on tigerishly to finish a very close third behind Pierre Whitby and Art Tutor in fast time. He led and won by a heat by more than two lengths from Pierre Whitby at Northam at his previous outing.
“I’m happy with the draw,” Peterson said. “I’d rather barrier one, but ten is next best. With Parmesan drawn one, I’d expect him to lead and he’ll be the ideal horse to follow.
“One For Dave Andme’s past couple of runs have been super. He was really good at his last start. He’s not a breeze horse but he did all right in the breeze. And at the start before that when he beat Pierre Whitby by more than two lengths at Bunbury, he did it comfortably and was jogging on the line.”
Pierre Whitby, who finished strongly to beat Art Tutor and One For Dave Andme last week, will start from the No. 5 barrier and he could be dangerous if held up for a late burst.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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