“She’s fit; she’s hard and she’s ready to go,” declared Pinjarra trainer Michael Brennan when assessing star New South Wales mare Frith’s prospects in the $35,000 James Brennan Memorial at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The brilliant six-year-old and the only mare in the 2536m group 3 event is poised to take full advantage of the prized No. 1 barrier (an automatic draw under the conditions of the race), with Brennan predicting that Frith would set the pace and prove hard to catch.
“We’ll be leading,” said Brennan. “There’s nothing there that will cross her, I would’ve thought. She’s very quick out of the gate and runs her best races in front.”
Frith, trained by Junee postman Bruce Harpley throughout her 46-start career of 33 wins, six seconds and two thirds for $884,245 in prizemoney, will be having her first start for six months. But Harpley, who has remained in Junee to prepare a team of 11 pacers and to deliver the mail, is confident that Frith is ready to run a big race, first-up.
“Bruce said she is forward enough,” Brennan said. “I don’t expect too much early pressure and 2536m first-up is not a problem. She was ready to go to the races a fortnight ago, but when her owners decided to send her over here, they decided not to race her.
“She’s a quality mare; you don’t win 33 out of 46 and $880,000 unless you are a very good mare. Bruce gave her a hoppled run, a decent hit-out, last Saturday before she got on the plane in Sydney for the trip to Perth. He was very happy with her work.
“After the float trip down from Junee to Sydney (435km south-west of Sydney) and the flight to Perth, that was more than enough for her. She jogged this morning (Tuesday) and we’ll jog her through to Friday and have her ready to go.
“Since she arrived she has done very well and is eating well. She is very free in her action and has settled right in. She’s been here before, so that’s a bonus.”
Chris Voak has been engaged to drive Frith for the first time on Friday night, and he plans to have a good chat with Harpley before the race.
“Frith is a bit tricky to drive, but Voaky will definitely suit her,” Brennan said. “She’s a mare who needs to be driven along a bit and she doesn’t like other horses getting past her.”
Voak, who is in top form in the sulky, with a treble at Gloucester Park last Friday night and a double with Memphis Bomber (6/1) and Disturbia (29/1) at Northam on Tuesday night, is hoping that history will repeat itself.
In last year’s Brennan Memorial Voak drove the only mare in the race, Leda McNally, the 5/4 on favourite who set the pace from the No. 1 barrier and held on to win by a half-head from Shardons Rocket. Leda McNally became only the third successful mare in the 47-year history of the race.
Brennan also has been successful in a Brennan Memorial, with Im Victorious (driven by Justin Prentice) winning narrowly from Sneakyn Down Under in 2013.
Frith is likely to receive stiff opposition on Friday night from Elegant Christian, Crusader Banner and Northview Punter, trained at Serpentine by Gary Hall sen. Interestingly, each of those three pacers was successful in minor events on the Brennan Memorial program in 2014. Others who will have admirers include the brilliant, but somewhat unreliable Condrieu and the speedy Little Boy Blue.
Elegant Christian, to be driven by Clint Hall from out wide at barrier eight, looks set to fight out the finish. He was most impressive last Friday night when he started from 20m and was 11th with 600m to travel before surging home with a powerful burst to finish second to stablemate Cyamach over 2503m when the final 800m off the front was covered in 56.7sec.
At Pinjarra the previous Monday Elegant Christian gave a bold frontrunning display to win a 2636m stand from El Machine and The Bucket List, dashing over the final 800m in 54.8sec.
Condrieu, trained by Greg and Skye Bond, will be driven by Colin Brown, who won the 2004 Brennan Memorial with Another Party. The versatile Condrieu will start from the outside barrier (No. 9), but he can never be underestimated.
Frith, who has won seven group 1 and two group 3 events, has made one appearance in Western Australia when Harpley drove her to an all-the-way victory in the WA Oaks over 2536m in May 2013.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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