15 March 2018 | Ken Casellas
Lightly-raced six-year-old Khun Lek has struck form with a vengeance and reinsman Aiden de Campo is hoping she will complete a winning hat-trick and give him a welcome 26th birthday present at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Khun Lek, trained in Capel by de Campo’s father Andrew, will be one of the fancies in the 2130m Building And Constructions At DTS Pace for mares after smart wins at Bunbury and Gloucester Park at her past two outings. She will start from barrier No. 5 on the front line and Aiden de Campo is planning to go forward at the start in a bid for the early lead or to take up a prominent forward position.
In an open affair, Khun Lek, Rockin The Boys and Our Jeremes Gem appear to have sound prospects. Rockin The Boys and Our Jeremes Gem have each finished second at their past two starts and are due for a change of fortune.
Khun Lek is by McArdle out of Chantic Sarah, a D M Dilinger mare who raced 17 times in Western Australia for five wins in 2008 and 2009 — two at Narrogin and Wagin and one at Pinjarra. She is no relation to Khun Ratha, who finished powerfully to win at Gloucester Park last Friday night.
Khun Ratha, recently purchased by Kristy Sheehy and Joshua Dunn, has earned $162,519 from 15 wins and 38 placings from 106 starts. He will start from the back line in the 2536m Hardware at DTS Pace on Friday night and has sound each-way prospects, with Shannon Suvaljko in the sulky.
Suvaljko and de Campo have excellent prospects of winning the final event, the Direct Trades Supply Pace, in which Suvaljko will be in the sulky behind the polemarker Ctheballerina and de Campo will be driving Cest Lheure.
Ctheballerina, unplaced at her past nine starts since winning over 2090m in Hobart last October, is a newcomer to Mike Reed’s Henley Brook stables and she caught the eye in a 2150m trial at Byford in Sunday morning when she surged home from sixth at the bell to be second to Ay Jays Dream.
“She’s been all over the place, racing in New Zealand, Tasmania and Victoria,” Reed said. “I like her and whatever she does on Friday night, she will improve on.”
Suvaljko watched the trial in which Ctheballerina was driven by Mark Reed, and gave the mare his tick of approval. “The only blue, first-up, is the longer distance of 2536m,” he said.
De Campo described Cest Lheure as a handy horse who hardly ever runs a bad race and said that he was confident of a forward showing, without being in any way over-confident.
Suvaljko will have a busy time on Friday night and apart from Golden State (who should win the WA Derby Prelude) he has many good each-way prospects among his drives behind A Boy Named Rosie, Chal Storm, Khun Ratha, She Said Diamonds, Our Jeremes Gem and Ctheballerina.
He also spoke highly of Back To The Beach’s winning prospects in the Irrigation At DTS Westbred Pace. Back To The Beach, to be driven by Mitch Miller for Oakford trainer Ross Olivieri, will start from barrier six and looks set to fight out the finish after having notched seven wins from his past 13 starts.
Suvaljko has driven Back To The Beach in five of those wins, with Miller, engaged this week to take advantage of his concession, having had only one drive behind the four-year-old for an all-the-way victory in the 2180m Wagin Cup four starts ago.
“He doesn’t have to lead; he can sit,” said Suvaljko. “However, he has drawn inside of Red Hot Roxy and she will not be able to sit outside Back To The Beach and beat him.”
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