By Adam Hamilton
SUDDENLY Gary Hall Sr has a serious Perth Inter Dominion player.
Hall Sr won the last Perth Inter Dominion back in 2012 with the champ Im Themightyquinn.
“I’ve got a good bunch of open-class horses in the barn, but wasn’t sure any of them were quite Inter Dominion class,” the champion trainer said.
“But with Beautide out and a question mark over Christen Me, it has opened right up.”
Waylade has always been Hall Sr’s top seed and he cemented that with the most impressive of first-up wins in the JP Stratton Cup (2536m) last Friday night.
The Kiwi-bred five-year-old made it 12 wins from just 17 starts when he totally outclassed a strong field of locals.
“He trialled really well going into it and we knew he was ready to run well, but that was certainly impressive,” Hall Sr said.
Waylade drifted back from a wide draw to settle near last and was forced to make his own three-wide run without cover from the 1200m.
Despite being out wide by himself in closing splits of 28.9, 28.9 and 29sec, Waylade powered away to win by 6.4m in a very slick 1min56.3sec mile rate for 2536m.
Making it even more impressive was the fact his talented and zippy stablemate Classic American trailed him all the way, but couldn’t keep up, let alone making any challenge.
It was a trifecta for Hall Sr with Classic American snaring second and talented mare Ideal Alice fighting on for third after leading.
The Aussie TAB slashed Waylade’s Inter Dominion odds from $14 to $8, putting him in the top four of betting now.
The Stratton Cup trifecta highlighted a huge night for Hall Sr’s stable where they won four races.
The other key win came with former Kiwi Norvic Nightowl , who has now raced eight times in WA for Hall Sr for five wins and three seconds.
Hall Sr’s other wins on the night came another couple of former Kiwi pacers in Cyamach and Nuala.
IT is rare there is so many interest in a ho-hum “maiden” race at Newcastle.
But that was the case at Newcastle last Friday when former Kiwi mare Arms Of An Angel made her debut for Shane Tritton.
It was Tritton’s fiancé Lauren Panella’s first drive back from more than four months out with injury.
Arms Of An Angel was sent out a $1.04 favourite off the back of a sparkling trial win and the daughter of Elsu set tongues wagging with the most extraordinary of wins.
Arms Of An Angel speared to the front for Panella but her comeback drive proved a nightmare when the mare then took charge and overraced so badly she opened-up a 50m lead after 800m of the 2030m race.
As Panella fought to control the mare she broke into a wild gallop with a lap to run.
By the time Panella got Arms Of An Angel back pacing, she had lost her lead and had to work forward to take the front again.
Then she took charge again, opened up another big lead and somehow kept going to win by 32.4m in a slick 1min58.7sec mile rate.
“We think she’s very, very good, but that wasn’t ideal at all,” Tritton said. “The pin in the arm of the mobile (starting gate) got stuck and wouldn’t close so she wanted to chase the mobile and got fired right up.
“You’ll hear a lot more about her. We really like her.”
Panella made it two wins from her first two drives back when when last season’s NZ Jewels fifth placegetter Salty Robyn made a winning return.
The gelding, who was first-up since the Jewels on May 30, gaped his rivals to win by 35.3m in a 1min57.1sec mile rate for 2030m.
ALMOST two years ago Keayang Steamer looked a megastar of the future.
He sat outside and thrashed Smoken Up in a Horsham Cup on January 5, 2014, but then came an injury which sidelined him for eight months.
It’s been a long haul back, but the trainer Marg Lee looks to have the best Keayang Steamer firing again.
The seven-year-old’s first-up win in last Sunday’s Group 3 Maryborough Cup was outstanding.
He made light work of a 10m handicap to sit parked and rip home in 55.8 and 27.2sec to win in terrific style.
Brent Lilley’s former Kiwi pacer Lets Elope was backed into favourite and had every chance with a close second, while the leader Macho Comacho fought on for third.
ANOTHER week, another career-best win from one of Australia’s most exciting mares Betabcool.
The former Kiwi daughter of Bettors Delight won a restricted mares’ feature in fantastic style last Friday week then raised the bar again last Friday.
Once again she did all the work to win, but this time she left some of Victoria’s best open-class mares in her wake, including Whereibylong and Milly Perez.
Betabcool sat parked in a slick 1min55.4sec mile rate for 1720m, capped by closing splits of 55.2 and 27.6sec in the Group 3 Cinderella Stakes.
She’s now had 11 starts in Australia for Amanda Turnbull and Nathan Jack for eight wins, two seconds and a fourth.
It was a triumphant race for Turnbull, who also trained the close runner-up Vienna Eyre.
ANOTHER impressive winner on the Melton card was last season’s Ballarat Cup winner Im Corzin Terror, who won the fast-class race for trainer Dean Braun and driver Greg Sugars.
Im Corzin Terror, second-up from a six-month spell, sat parked and won strongly in a 1min58.4sec mile rate for 2240m.
Connections are now firm on heading across the ditch to tackle the NZ Cup with the stayer, who finished a solid fifth in last season’s Sydney Inter Dominion final.
VETERAN Lous Lad upstage Perth Inter Dominion hopeful Mach Beauty in the free-for-all (1609m) at Menangle last Saturday night.
Mach Beauty, third-up from a long spell, was sent out a $2.50 favourite and looked good when he speared to the front.
Shane Tritton’s speedster carved out quick splits as his custom, but Lous Lad nabbed him late in a slick 1min51.8sec mile to win by a half-neck.
Mach Beauty now heads to Victoria for the Smoken Up at Melton in two weeks before boarding the plane to Perth for the Inter Dominion.
IT is great to see former star juvenile Yankee Rockstar back and firing.
The Emma Stewart-trained five-year-old became so sick he almost died after contesting the Chariots Of Fire early this year.
Now he’s won both runs back, including Cranbourne last Saturday night by a huge space in quick time.
Next stop is the $50,000 Group 2 Melton Plate on Saturday night.
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