Five-year-old Bettor Offer is the least experienced runner in the Hi-Temp Services Handicap over 2503m at Gloucester Park on Friday night, but he should prove too classy for his nine rivals.
The New Zealand-bred gelding has notched 11 wins and nine placings from only 27 starts and he impressed at his first outing for leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond after a lengthy absence of 14 months when he started from 30m and was ninth after a lap before Ryan Warwick dashed him forward, three wide, to be third at the bell.
Warwick then gave the gelding a breather in the one-out, one-back position before he ran home strongly to finish a head second to Tank You Kindly after a final 800m in 57sec.
That was Bettor Offer’s first appearance since he set the pace and won a heat of the 1730m Nights of Thunder from Machtu in December 2014, rating 1.53.
The Bonds will also be represented in Friday night’s stand by veteran Pay Me Cullen, who will start from 10m, with Colin Brown in the sulky. The nine-year-old has finished solidly to win at two of his past three starts, in stands over 2116m at Pinjarra and 2503m at Gloucester Park.
Sonic Classic is in sound form for Baldivis trainer-reinsman Nathan Turvey and he looks Bettor Offer’s most serious rival. The Craig Abercromby-trained Tank You Kindly led and won from Bettor Offer at his latest outing to end a losing sequence of 13 unplaced efforts. He will start off the 10m.
Pinjarra trainer Michael Brennan has two runners off 10m, Back On Board and Gallileo. He said they had each-way prospects and he had a leaning towards Back On Board.
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