05 January 2023 | Ken Casellas
Diego and Brown set to strike
Noted frontrunner Diego has drawn the prized No. 1 barrier and is poised to give Maddison Brown an historic victory in the $100,000 group 2 J. P. Stratton Cup at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The 27-year-old Brown will become the first female to drive the winner of the Stratton Cup which was first run on Saturday August 31, 1935, when John Thomas drove the favourite Nelson Pronto to victory over All Charm and Chic, rating 2.17.5 in the two-mile race which carried stakes of two hundred pounds ($400).
Brown has formed a wonderful association with the seven-year-old New Zealand-bred Diego, having driven him 27 times for seven wins, five seconds and four thirds. The Bettors Delight gelding has set the pace at eight of his 57 starts in Western Australia for eight wins.
“He is unbeatable in front,” said a proud trainer Gary Hall snr after Brown had driven Diego to a brilliant all-the-way victory in a 2130m Free-For-All last Friday week when he sprinted over the final 400m sections in 26.5sec. and 27.8sec. and rated 1.54.9 in beating stablemate Gambit and Magnificent Storm.
Brown’s only appearance in a Stratton Cup was when she drove Medieval Man into seventh place behind Perfect Major in October 2021, with the other female drivers in that race being Emily Suvaljko (fourth with Blue Blazer) and Deni Roberts (fifth with Alta Intrigue).
The closest a female driver has got to winning the Stratton Cup was in October 1991 when Kellie Kersley finished second with Quecee, two lengths behind champion pacer Village Kid.
Brown has high hopes of joining her father Colin as a winning driver of a Stratton Cup. Colin has been successful with Demoralizer (2007), Russley Rascal (2012) and Vampiro (2019).
Hall has prepared the winner of the Stratton Cup five times, scoring with Bengeeman (2002), Alzona (2011), Waylade (2015) and Chicago Bull (2018 and 2021). Those pacers were driven by Gary Hall jnr.
Diego is one of Hall senior’s four runners in Friday night’s 2130m Cup, the others being Prince Of Pleasure, Gambit and Jumpingjackmac.
Hall jnr has given punters a good lead by choosing to drive the inexperienced but richly talented Prince Of Pleasure, who will begin from barrier five on the front line. Stuart McDonald will handle Gambit from the inside of the back line, and Aiden de Campo will be in the sulky behind Jumpingjackmac, who will start from barrier two on the back line.
Diego is No. 2 in RWWA’s second rankings release for the Fremantle and WA Pacing Cups later this month. Retaining the No. 1 ranking is the outstanding six-year-old Magnificent Storm, who has drawn the outside barrier (No. 9) on the front line in the Stratton Cup.
Astute Mt Helena trainer Ray Williams and star reinsman Aldo Cortopassi are full of hope that Magnificent Storm will overcome the disadvantage of the wide barrier and warm up for the Fremantle and WA Pacing Cups with a Stratton Cup win — after their disappointment when Major Pocket, in his final start, was a $7.50 chance who set the pace and led until the final couple of strides to finish a close third behind Vampiro and El Jacko in the in the Stratton Cup in November 2019.
Magnificent Storm, a winner at 27 of his 38 starts, began from the back line in a 2130m Free-For-All last Friday week when he raced in sixth position in the one-wide line before starting a three-wide move 900m from home. He covered the final 800m in 54.3sec. and finished an excellent third behind Diego.
Six-year-old Prince Of Pleasure has won at eight of his 19 starts and he looks set to fight out the finish of Friday night’s Cup. He started from the outside of the back line in a 2536m Free-For-All last Friday night when he settled down in the one-out, one-back position before Hall jnr switched him three wide after 400m to move to the breeze while Vampiro was setting the pace.
With 1400m to travel Minstrel moved to the breeze, thus giving Prince Of Pleasure an ideal sit in fourth position. Prince Of Pleasure finished strongly and took a narrow lead in the final 40m before Ideal Agent charged home to get up in the final stride to beat him by a half-head.
Gambit and Jumpingjackmac are in excellent form ad are capable of fighting out the finish.
Champion trainers Greg and Skye Bond will be pinning their faith in Mighty Conqueror (barrier four) and Patronus Star (barrier six). Ryan Warwick will handle Mighty Conqueror, and Deni Roberts will drive Patronus Star.
The Justin Prentice-trained Mighty Ronaldo (currently at No. 17 in the Fremantle and WA Pacing Cup rankings) is handily drawn at barrier two and will be driven by Emily Suvaljko.
Jocelyn Young has been pleased with the recent efforts of the Debra Lewis-trained Hampton Banner, who is awkwardly drawn out wide at barrier No. 8 on Friday night.
“Everyone thinks that he is just a frontrunner but he is a good sit-sprinter,” she said. Hampton Banner, who set the pace and won from Wildwest and Mighty Conqueror over 1730m four starts ago, finished strongly from eighth at the bell to be fourth behind Ideal Agent last week.
“It was a very good run,” said Young. “My whip got stuck in the top of the crupper in the late stages and I couldn’t hit him because I was too busy trying to free the whip.”
Trial points to Armed Reactor
Enigmatic pacer Armed Reactor, who has finished at the rear at his past three starts, has a great chance to return to the winning list when he starts from the No. 2 barrier in the 1730m Trotsynd Syndication Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The lightly-raced New Zealand-bred eight-year-old put the writing on the wall when he was on his best behaviour and scored a runaway win in a 2185m trial at Pinjarra on Thursday of last week.
Driven by his trainer Gary Hall jnr, Armed Reactor began safely from barrier four in the five-horse trial and he took the lead after 150m and set a fast pace before winning by eleven lengths from Tenzing Bromac, rating a smart 1.55.5.
Thirteen nights earlier Armed Reactor started from the back line in a 2130m event at Gloucester Park when he settled down in the one-out, one-back position before he hit a wheel and broke into a gallop 500m after the start.
He dropped back to a distant last before starting a three-wide move 1200m from home, moving to third at the bell and then wilting over the final 500m to finish last behind Getyn Wiggy Withit.
One of Armed Reactor’s seven rivals on Friday night will be former Victorian pacer Mea Culpa, a six-year-old Art Major gelding who will start from the outside barrier in his first appearance at Gloucester Park.
A winner at eight of his 77 Victorian starts, Mea Culpa is trained by Nathan Turvey and will be driven by Kyle Symington, who was in the sulky when he began from barrier five, raced four back on the pegs and ran home strongly to gain a last-stride win by a half-head from the pacemaker Cherishthememories at a 1.54 rate over 1684m at Pinjarra on Monday afternoon.
As usual, Hall’s drives will be popular with punters. Apart from Armed Reactor, he has sound prospects with Nevermindthechaos (race one), Moonlite Drive (race four), Prince of Pleasure (race five) and Strauny (race seven).
The Michael Young-trained Nevermindthechaos has the ability to overcome a wide draw at barrier seven in the 2130m opening event and turn the tables on Three Rumours, who defeated her by a half-neck in the group 3 Coulson Pace last Friday night.
Nevermindthechaos was having her second start after an eight-month absence when she began from the outside barrier (No. 9), settled down in last position and sustained a strong three-wide burst from the 1000m to get within a head of Three Rumours on the home turn.
Three Rumours, who made an unsuccessful bid for the lead in the first lap, then raced in the breeze before taking the lead 390m from home. Her victory at a 1.56.9 rate over 2130m was full of merit.
Moonlight Drive was an all-the-way winner last Friday night, and he will again be fancied when he starts from the No. 2 barrier in the 2130m APG Perth Yearling Sale Pace in which he will meet stiffer opposition, including Handsandwheels, Sugar Street, Typhoon Banner and Machnificent.
Hall has been engaged by Byford trainer Peter Tilbrook to drive Strauny in the TABtouch WA Pacing Cup Handicap in which he will start from barrier five on the front line in the 2503m standing-start event.
Hall, who has not driven Strauny, replaces Chris Voak, who has handled the five-year-old at his past 15 starts for six wins, two seconds and a third placing. Voak was committed to handle Troopingofthecolor, a pacer he trains and was in the sulky when he finished full of running to win a 2130m mobile event by five lengths from Tenacious George at Gloucester Park on Tuesday of last week.
Strauny is sure to prove hard to beat. He was an effortless Pinjarra winner three starts ago before he raced without cover and finished third behind Strike Team over 1730m at Gloucester Park and then was sixth behind Orlando Blue in a stand last Friday night.
Strauny was the $1.85 favourite last Friday night when he galloped at the start and lost ten lengths. He settled in eighth position before dashing forward after 600m to take an ideal sit in the one-out, two-back position. He went four wide on the home turn, but just plugged home after his early indiscretion.
De Campo picks Pradason
Ace Capel trainer-reinsman Aiden de Campo has given punters a valuable lead by choosing to drive Pradason in preference to stablemate Rockstar rebel in the 21230m Trotsynd Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Both pacers are smart frontrunners, with de Campo opting to handle Pradason because of a more favourable barrier at No. 2, with Rockstar Rebel drawn at barrier five.
Pradason led and won at Bendigo, Ballarat and Terang before heading west where his wins in the State have included all-the-way efforts at Albany, Northam and Gloucester Park.
Pradason is expected to be involved in a spirited early battle for the lead with Dan Costello’s stout-hearted seven-year-old The Kraken, who will be driven by Mitch Miller from the prized No. 1 barrier.
Rockstar Rebel, who will be handled by Dylan Egerton-Green, has explosive gate speed, but he will be tested from the No. 5 barrier. In an open field, Pradason, the Kraken and Rockstar Rebel are sure to meet with plenty of opposition from Valentines Brook, Dont Bother Me None, Lucky Galleon, Manning and Withoutthetuh.
Valentines Brook, who is handily drawn at barrier two, has impressed with seconds at each of his three appearances after resuming from a spell; Manning is favourably drawn at barrier two on the back line; and Lucky Galleon has struck a purple patch for trainer Ray Williams and reinsman Aldo Cortopassi.
Manning, who entered Michael Young’s Mundijong stables after finishing a close second to Rockaball over 2130m last Friday week, is the winner of 15 races and $212,839 and will be handled by his regular driver Maddison Brown. He revealed typical fighting qualities after working hard without cover at his latest appearance.
Lucky Galleon has the ability to overcome the disadvantage of starting from the outside of the back line. He has given a fine example of his versatility in winning at Pinjarra at his past two starts.
He led from barrier one and sprinted over the final 400m in 27.1sec. in winning from Valentines Brook over 2692m three Mondays ago. And then a fortnight later he settled down in tenth position in a 2185m event and was ninth at the bell before starting a fast move 600m from home and taking the lead on the home turn and winning from Twobob Cracker, rating 1.57.1.
Vulcan Star knocking on the door
Flying finishes at his past two starts have made seven-year-old Vulcan Star a horse to follow. And he gets his chance to reward his followers by winning the 1730m Trotsynd Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The New Zealand-bred Vulcan Star, trained by Greg and Skye Bond, has yet to win at his eight starts in his current preparation. But he is surely close to notching his eleventh victory.
Vulcan Star, to be handled by his regular driver Deni Roberts, has the ability to overcome the disadvantage of starting from out wide at barrier No. 8 this week. He lacked early sparkle from the No. 3 barrier in a 2130m event last Friday night when he settled down in eighth position, and was seventh at the bell before charging home, out five wide, to finish an eye-catching third behind the pacemaker Onesmartfella and Bettors Destroya.
He sped over the final 800m in 55.95sec. A week earlier he began from barrier five in a 1730m event and raced in ninth position before surging home, out six wide, to finish third behind Onesmartfella and Mirragon. He dashed over the final 800m in 56.27sec.
Toughest for Vulcan Star to beat are likely to be Middlepage and Carrera Mach. The Lindsay Harper trained and driven Middlepage reappeared after a spell when he was restrained from barrier four and raced in tenth position before finishing strongly to be third behind the pacemaker Miss Serenade over 2536m at Gloucester Park on Tuesday of last week.
Middlepage will start from the No. 4 barrier, with the Jemma Hayman-trained Carrera Mach at No. 2 and with Chris Voak sure to be keen to set the pace over the sprint journey.
Carrera Mach started from barrier one over 1730m last Friday night when he was beaten for early speed and raced three back on the pegs before finishing sixth behind the frontrunning Sangue Reale.
Much interest will surround the 2017 WA Derby winner Handsandwheels when he contests the APG Perth Yearling Sale Pace over 2130m at his tenth start in his comeback campaign.
Trainer-driver Aiden de Campo has gradually got the eight-year-old close to peak condition. He has finished third three times from nine start since resuming after a lengthy injury-enforced absence. He raced in the one-out, one-back position when a sound third behind Himself and Glenledi Chief over 2130m last Friday night. The final 800m was covered in 56.1sec.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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