10 December 2020 | Ken Casellas
Four-year-old mare Radiant Amber was a rank outsider at $101 when sixth behind Diego last Friday night and was an unwanted $91 chance at her previous outing when eleventh behind Euphoric Moment. Those inconspicuous performances were from wide barriers at No. 8 and No. 9, respectively.
The Ryan Bell-trained Radiant Amber will begin from a much more favourable barrier at No. 3 on the front line in the opening event, the 2130m City of Perth Pace, at Gloucester Park on Friday night when Michael Grantham is expected to take full advantage of the mare’s sparkling gate speed.
Grantham, who will be driving Radiant Amber for the first time, is likely to send the mare forward in a bid to outpace the speedy beginners on her inside, Bettorgrinanbarit and Mileys Desire.
Bettorgrinanbarit (Dylan Egerton-Green) returns to mobile racing after contesting standing-start events at her past five starts for two wins and two seconds. She led when an impressive winner from Thats Perfect last Friday night. She has also won twice in mobile safter setting the pace.
Kyle Harper will drive Mileys Desire for Barragup trainer Peter Lodding. She has only a nine per cent winning record (eight wins from 89 starts), but it is interesting to note that she has set the pace ion seven of her victories.
Radiant Amber was an all-the-way 2130m winner seven starts ago, and since then she has impressed with her sparkling early speed when bursting to the front from barriers five and six for a second to Blue Chip Adda and a third behind the brilliant To Fast To Serious.
Egerton-Green also will be looking forward to driving former Victorian trotter Sunnys Little Jestic from the front line in the Celebrate The Silly Season In The City of Perth Trot, a 2096m standing-start event.
Sunnys Little Jestic won twice from 16 New Zealand starts before racing 16 times in Victoria for six wins and three placings. She has not appeared since she started at $88.20, broke at the mobile start and finished a distant seventh behind Red Hot Tooth at Kilmore on April 3 this year.
Sunnys Little Jestic is a half-sister to the brilliant Sunnys Little Whiz, who was retired after an excellent 48-start career that produced 18 wins and 15 placings for stakes of $150,140.
Sunnys Little Whiz was trained in Busselton by Barry Howlett, who gave the mare 29 starts in WA for 16 wins and ten placings. Howlett has not produced Sunnys Little Jestic at trials, but the four-year-old’s record suggests that she is capable of a bold first-up showing, with her chief rival appearing to be Princess Mila, a smart last-start mobile winner.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
