01 December 2022 | Ken Casellas
Lavra Joe out to end a hoodoo
Outstanding pacer Lavra Joe faces an acid test at Gloucester Park on Friday night when he attempts to end a harrowing hoodoo when he contests the $125,000 Nova 93.7 Four-Year-Old Classic.
Owner-trainer Ray Jones is not superstitious, but he would dearly love Lavra Joe to break through for his first success in a group 1 feature event.
The striking-looking gelding has won five group 2 races and four group 3 events. But he has been unable to break through for a group 1 victory, with his four attempts resulting in a second to Jett Star in the Two-Year-Old Pearl, a ninth behind Give Us A Wave in the Westbred Classic for two-year-old colts and geldings, an eighth behind Mighty Ronaldo in the Golden Slipper and his fourth behind Mighty Ronaldo in the WA Derby in April last year.
Lavra Joe is in top form, having won the group 3 Pinjarra Four-Year-Old Classic and the group 2 Four-Year-Old Championship at Gloucester Park at his past two starts, in which he set the pace after drawing favourably at barriers three and one.
He faces a more difficult task this week when he starts from the outside barrier (No. 3) on the back line in the field of twelve. But he has the speed, strength and will to win to overcome this disadvantage.
Lavra Joe will be handled by Chris Lewis, who shares the record with another champion reinsman Gary Hall jnr, with each having won this event five times in its 44-year history.
Lewis has been successful with Village Kid (1984), Tamai Boy (1985), Vero Prince (1986), Flashing Star (1994) and Saab (1998). Hall has won the Classic with The Falcon Strike (2001), Im Themightyquinn (2008), Waylade (2014), Beaudiene Boaz (2015) and Chicago Bull (2016).
Hall has given punters an important lead by choosing to drive the Justin Prentice-trained Mighty Ronaldo in preference to star pacer Jumpingjackmac, who is prepared by Gary Hall snr, who has trained a record of six winners of the rich feature event — Love Of Glory (1990), The Falcon Strike, Im Themightyquinn, Waylade, Beaudiene Boaz and Chicago Bull. He drove Love Of Glory, and also won the race as a driver with Valley Champ (1993) and Slick Vance (1995).
Mighty Ronaldo is awkwardly drawn at barrier six on the front line. But he cannot be underestimated, having won nine times and being placed 12 times in his 30-start career, with his wins including the group 1 2020 Golden Slipper, the group 1 2021 WA Derby and the group 2 Sales Classic for three-year-old colts and geldings.
Jumpingjackmac, who finished second in last year’s WA Derby, is in excellent form, and placings behind Lavra Joe at his past two starts have been full of merit. He will be handled by Stuart McDonald and is handily drawn at barrier two on the back line.
Hall snr will also be represented by the speedy Finvarra, a winner of 11 races who will be driven by Maddison Brown from out wide at barrier No. 8. Prentice has an excellent second-string runner in the free-legged pacer El Chema, an impressive winner over Stamford last Friday night.
El Chema will be driven by Emily Suvaljko, who will be keen to take advantage of the prized No. 1 barrier. El Chema possess good gate speed, but there is also a great deal of gate speed to his outside, with Tenzing Bromac, Blitzembye and Stamford all speedy beginners.
If Lavra Joe wins, he will become only the third pacer to notch the double of the Four-Year-Old Championship and the Four-Year-Old Classic, a feat achieved by Waylade in 2014 and Magnificent Storm in January of last year.
Ravenswood trainer-driver Jocelyn Young is hoping that The Amber Hare will buck the odds and become only the third mare to win the Four-Year-Old Classic, following the wins of Whitbys Miss Penny in 1991 and Lombo La Fe Fe in 2004.
The Amber Hare has won at ten of her 20 starts but will need all the breaks after starting out wide at barrier seven. She finished strongly from ninth at the bell to be a splendid fourth behind Miss Limelight in the group 1 2536m Westral Mares Classic last Friday night.
Greg and Skye Bond, who prepared Ana Malak for his victory in the 2018 Four-Year-Old Classic, will be pinning their faith on Tenzing Bromac (Ryan Warwick) and Himself (Colin Brown).
Tenzing Bromac is comparatively inexperienced, with eleven wins and two seconds from 15 starts. He is ideally drawn at barrier two. Colin Brown will drive Himself for the first time, with the son of Sportswriter drawn at No. 5. He faces a rise in class but has the ability to make a bold bid for victory.
Ifeel Sikdarl serves notice
The oddly named Ifeel Sikdarl put the writing on the wall for a breakthough first metropolitan-class win with an excellent performance last Friday night.
The Sportswriter four-year-old trained at Jandabup by Graham Cummins is perfectly drawn at the No. 1 barrier in the opening event at Gloucester Park on Friday night, the 2130m Nova 93.7 Pace.
Ifeel Sikdarl is a smart frontrunner, and Maddison Brown will be keen to win the start and set the pace in a strong bid for victory.
His effort in finishing a 2m second to rising star Prince Of Pleasure over 1730m last week was outstanding. He led for the first lap and then sat behind Prince Of Pleasure before fighting on strongly after a final 800m in 56.3sec.
His major rival looms large as lightly-raced seven-year-old Armed Reactor, who warmed up for this race with a most impressive and effortless win in a 2150m trial at Byford last Sunday morning when he took the lead after 80m, bowled along in front and dashed over the final 400m in 28.8sec. to beat Rockaball easily at a 1.57.8 rate, with final quarters of 29sec. and 28.8sec.
Armed Reactor will start from the outside of the front line, but he looks certain to fight out the finish.
Brown will also have the luxury of starting from the No. 1 barrier with Fifty Five Reborn in the $26,000 Perth’s No. 1 Station Nova 93.7 Pace.
Fifty Five Reborn, trained by Brown’s father Colin, is a quality mare who has earned $241,517 from 15 wins and eight seconds from 60 starts. She is a brilliant frontrunner, who set the pace when a head second to Eighteen Carat in then group 1 Norms Daughter Classic two starts ago.
Eighteen Carat, trained by Michael Young and to be driven by Gary Hall jnr, will start from barrier five and she will need to be at her top to topple Fifty Five Reborn.
Eighteen Carat maintained her superb form last Friday night when she started from the outside of the front line, raced three wide for the first 550m and then in the breeze before finishing a half-length second to the pacemaker Miss Limelight in the 2536m group 1 Mares Classic. Fifty Five Reborn began speedily from barrier seven and enjoyed an ideal passage, one-out and one-back, before finishing seventh.
Miss Limelight was a brilliant winner last week, but she faces a tougher test this week when she will start out wide at barrier eight.
Hall opts for Cooper
Champion reinsman Gary Hall jnr has given punters an important lead by choosing to drive Cooper in preference to Robbie Rocket in the Smooth FM Pace, a 2503m stand at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Cooper, trained by Michael Young, will be reappearing after a 14-week absence and he will start from barrier three on the front line. Hall has driven the Ron Huston-trained Robbie Rocket at his past three starts (all in stands) for an all-the-way win and placings behind Firerockfireroll and Himself.
Robbie Rocket will start from the 10m mark and will be driven for the first time by Stuart McDonald. Hall drove Robbie Rocket in a 2550m standing-start trial at Byford on Sunday morning when the four-year-old dashed to an early lead and set the pace before winning the trial by just over a length from Cooper.
Cooper was handled in the trial by Joseph Suvaljko, and the four-year-old won the start before taking the sit behind Robbie Rocket. The final 400m was covered in 27.9sec. and Cooper went to the line without being fully extended.
Young and Hall should combine to send punters home on a happy note by winning the final event, the 2130m Book Your NYE @Gloucester Park Pace with the New Zealand-bred Serious Moonlite, who will be making his Australian debut.
Serious Moonlite, a winner at four of his 25 New Zealand starts, was not extended in a 2150m trial at Byford on Sunday morning when he finished second to stablemate Ideal Tomato. He will start from the No. 1 barrier and should prove too smart for his rivals, the most serious of whom are likely to be Seven No Trumps and Livy Jay.
Cooper and Serious Moonlite are two of Young’s team of eight runners who will be in action on Friday night, with the others being Getn Wiggy Withit (race one), Eighteen Carat (race three), Beat City (race six), Firerockfireroll (race eight), Moonlite Drive and Orlando Blue (race nine).
Sangue Reale resumes
Smart six-year-old Sangue Reale will have many admirers when he resumes racing at Gloucester Park on Friday night after an absence of seven months.
The Art Major gelding is now trained by Chris Voak, who has engaged Kyle Symington to drive him when he starts from the outside barrier in the field of seven in the 2536m Freshest Hits And Throwbacks on Nova Pace.
Voak has driven Sangue Reale in two recent trials in which the gelding has impressed with spirited performances. He set the pace against modest opposition in an eight-horse field over 2100m at Bunbury on Wednesday of last week, and he romped home with final 400m sections of 28.6sec. and 27.7sec. to beat 12-year-old Captain Proud by 21 lengths, rating 1.56.4.
In a 2185m trial at Pinjarra the previous week Sangue Reale raced in the breeze and finished a head second to Miss Boudica, rating 1.58.8.
Sague Reale is sure to appreciate a drop in class and is capable of a bold first-up showing. He is well remembered as the horse who won the group 1 Four-Year-Old Classic in November 2019 on protest after finishing a nose by Shockwave. At his next start he finished third behind Shockwave in the group 1 Golden Nugget.
One of Sangue Reale’s opponents is promising four-year-old Orlando Blue, who is also resuming after a spell. Orlando Blue is a winner at eight of his 33 starts. He will be driven by Gary Hall jnr for trainer Michael Young.
Orlando Blue will start from the No. 3 barrier, with his stablemate and last-start winner Moonlite Drive to be handled by Maddison Brown from barrier six.
One of the best bets on the ten-event program is Little Darling, who has the ability to overcome an awkward draw at barrier seven in the Smooth FM Perth On Digital Radio Pace.
Little Darling, to be driven by Chris Lewis, for Busselton trainer Barry Howlett, is overdue for a change of fortune. She was extremely unlucky last Friday night when she enjoyed a perfect trip in the one-out, one-back position but was badly blocked for a clear run until she got into the clear 250m from home. She then surged home, out four wide, to finish an unlucky second to the pacemaker Rockmyster.
Her eight runs in her current campaign have resulted in six seconds, one second and one third placing. This week she should bounce back to winning form.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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