Gloucester Park Preview

Major Martini has strings to his bow

Brilliant sit-sprinter Major Martini is poised to boost his stake-earnings to $203,218 by proving the master of his six rivals in the $50,000 group 2 Sales Classic for three-year-old colts and geldings at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

Trained at Boyanup by Justin Prentice and to be handled by champion reinsman Gary Hall jnr, Major Martini, who was purchased at the 2018 APG Perth yearling sales for $44,000, is favourably drawn at barrier two and Hall will have tactical options, either to lead or sit behind the polemarker Caveman.

Though noted for his devastating finishing bursts, Major Martini also possesses excellent gate speed and is a capable frontrunner. He set the pace and won at Gloucester Park at his first two starts, as a two-year-old in February and March 2019.

And at his most recent appearance he gave a magnificent performance to unwind a spectacular burst from eleventh at the bell to finish second, a short half-head behind Double Expresso in the Caduceus Club Classic last Friday week.

Caveman, to be driven by Shannon Suvaljko for Henley Brook trainer Mike Reed, led from barrier six and won at Northam five starts ago. He has maintained that strong form with two wins from his next four starts, with each win coming after he had raced in the breeze.

Two years ago, in the two-year-old leg of the Sales Classic, Prentice had two runners, Major Martini ($3.30) and Manning ($1.60). Hall drove Manning, who began speedily from barrier four and dashed to the front after 50m. Prentice was in the sulky behind Major Martini, who went forward, four wide, at the start and got to the front after 400m.

Major Martini, with final quarters of 28.3sec. and 28.2sec., went on to win by more than a length from Manning, rating 1.56.7 over 1730m.

Manning, a winner of four races (including the group 1 Pearl Classic last year) and $98,938 in stakes, will start from the No. 3 barrier on Friday night and will be driven by Chris Lewis. The Sportswriter gelding set the pace before wilting to third behind Howard Hughes over 2185m at Pinjarra last Monday week. He is sure to be prominent.

Major Martini, an Art Major gelding, is out of the unraced mare Gaetana Nicole, whose dam Hold Tight produced five winners, including Fake Embrace, who won the Sales Classic for two-year-olds in March 2004 before finishing fourth behind Alberta Retreat in the three-year-leg of that classic 12 months later. Fake Embrace won at 11 of his 26 starts in Western Australia before winning 26 races in America.

Caveman, by Somebeachsomewhere, is the first foal out of Our Copper Art and was purchased as a yearling for $47,500. He is showing excellent promise for owners Wilma and Jim Giumelli, who purchased Caveman’s half-brother (by Well Said) for $30,000 at the APG yearling sale last Sunday.

Leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond will be pinning their faith in Poisedtopounce, who will be driven by Ryan Warwick from barrier No. 4. Poisedtopounce faces a stern test at his first appearance since he overraced and faded to finish seventh in a field of seven over 2130m at Gloucester Park on December 23.

Double Expresso looks far too good

Super filly Double Expresso has won more races (ten) and more prizemoney ($240,179) than the combined totals of eight wins and $85,620 in stakes of her six rivals in the $50,000 Sales Classic for three-year-old fillies at Gloucester Park on Friday night and she looks unbeatable.

The Ross Olivieri-trained filly has drawn perfectly in barrier one and champion reinsman Chris Lewis should have an armchair drive out in front over the 2130m journey.

Double Expresso, purchased for $22,000 at the 2018 APG yearling sale in Perth, has carried all before her in a glittering career, highlighted with two group 1 wins and one group 2 and one group 3 victories.

She warmed up for this week’s assignment in superb style when  she was fifth 250m from home and got off the pegs 30m later before charging home, out wide, to win the 2130m Caduceus Club Classic by a short half-head from the fast-finishing Major Martini and the pacemaker Al Guerrero at a 1.55.4 rate.

Double Expresso, by American stallion Sweet Lou, is the third foal out of the Rich And Spoilt mare Here For The Money, who raced 79 times for seven wins, 18 placings and $81,874 in stakes. As a two-year-old she was placed in the Sales Classic for fillies and in the Diamond Classic. Lewis drove Here For The Money only once — for a seventh placing behind Cooper Trooper in a C2-class event over 1730m at Gloucester Park on October 25, 2013.

Here For The Money has also produced star four-year-old Shockwave, winner of the Golden Nugget last December and the earner of $298,704 from ten wins and 11 placings from 32 starts.

Double Expresso’s pedigree can be traced back in an unbroken female line to the American mare Trimbles Mare in the 1850s. Double Expresso is closely related to the New South Wales-bred gelding Kingstar, who had 324 starts for 76 wins, 96 placings and $758,505 in prizemoney.

As a two-year-old Kingstar won the $100,000 NSW Sires Series Stakes at Harold Park in June 1997 and as a three-year-old he won the Queensland and Tasmanian Derbies as well as finishing second to champion New Zealand pacer Holmes D G in the Victoria Derby. He won the Four and Five-Year-Old Championship at Harold Park, beating Holmes D G and was second to that pacer in the Chariots of Fire in April 1999.

Kingstar’s great granddam Wickawack was placed in two heats of the 1962 Interdominion Championship series at Gloucester Park. Wickawack’s dam was Brunswick Girl, who produced Gloucester Park winners Lawnwick, Comedian and Brunswick Jack in the 1950s.

Intheskyrocket (barrier seven) and Red Hot Lady (six) have sound claims to be placed behind Double Expresso. Intheskyrocket, to be driven by Ryan Warwick for leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond, is racing first-up, after winning at her two most recent outings, over 2185m and 1684m at Pinjarra in December.

She also won at two of her four starts as a two-year-old and is bred to be a good winner, being closely related to Innocent Eyes, who amassed $421,875 from 18 wins and 17 placings from 62 starts. Her most notable victories were in the Victoria and Australian Oaks in July 2005 and the Chariots of Fire at Harold Park in January 2006.

Red Hot Lady, trained at Byford by Katja Warwick and to be handled by Shannon Suvaljko, is in good form, with her three appearances after a spell producing a first-up third at Northam, a second to I Work Out at Northam and all-the-way victory over Classy Colby over 2050m at Collie.

Follow ton-up Chris Voak

Charismatic reinsman Chris Voak is riding high and is poised to continue his recent run of successes by guiding Marquisard to an all-the-way victory in the 2130m Westral Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

The 31-year-old Voak is Western Australia’s leading reinsman at the half-way mark of the 2019-20 season, after bringing up his century of winners with a double with Cheddar Is Better and Roman Art at Pinjarra on Monday afternoon. He kept up the good work with another double at Bunbury on Tuesday night, scoring with Justgivemerubies and Papinik.

He now leads the WA drivers’ premiership table with 102 winners — ahead of Ryan Warwick (94), Gary Hall jnr (80) and Chris Lewis (69).

This is the ninth season in a row that Voak has driven a century of winners after he first appeared in WA’s top-ten list with 70 winners for an eighth placing in the 2010-11 season. Since then, his season’s tally of winners has been: 108 (6th placing), 130 (3rd), 150 (2nd), 140 (3rd), 119 (5th), 120 (4th), 153 (4th) and 118 (seventh). He is now firmly on target to notch 200 winners this season.

Voak, who is now in third place behind Chris Alford and Greg Sugars on the national premiership table, will represent WA at the in Horsham Invitation Drivers’ Championship next Monday. Hall drove Off The Bench and Concealment to victory and won this event 12 months ago.

Marquisard, bred and owned by Pat Gilroy and trained at West Swan by Craig Abercromby, has had 83 starts for 14 wins, ten placings and $114,449 in stakes. He has won only once from his past 22 starts (when he began from  barrier eight, raced wide early and then obtained an ideal passage, one-out and one-back, before finishing resolutely to beat Shadow Roll by a length over 2536m at Gloucester Park ten starts ago.

This week Marquisard is favourably drawn at barrier one and Voak is expected to make full use of the five-year-old’s good gate speed by attempting to lead all the way. Saleahs Comand possesses sparkling gate speed, but Marquisard is capable of holding him at bay in the early stages.

Marquisard has a most impressive record in the seven races in which he has started from the No. 1 barrier — five all-the-way wins (three at Northam and two at Gloucester Park), a half-head second to Ideal One after leading over 2130m at Gloucester Park and a seventh behind The Bird Dance over 2185m at Pinjarra last November when he raced three back on the pegs.

The main dangers to Marquisard appear to be Three Bears, The Dali Express, Naval Aviator and Twoandahalf Tigers.

Three Bears, trained in Busselton by Barry Howlett, will be handled by Gary Hall jnr from barrier two and is sure to be prominent after his strong-finishing last-start second to Jack William at Pinjarra. Naval Aviator is close to another win, following his sound second to Dreamy Nights last Friday night and The Dali Express is overdue for a change of fortune after excellent placings at his past three starts.

Voak has several other excellent drives at Friday night’s meeting, with Captain Mannering (race three), Always Arjay (four), Madame Meilland (seven), Iconic Valor (eight), Rock Me Over (nine) and Withoutthetuh (ten) all having sound each-way prospects. The best of those runners could prove to be Captain Mannering and Rock me Over.