15 June 2023 | Ken Casellas
Milestone looms for Roberts
Deni Roberts has been driving in brilliant form this year and she is looking forward to achieving a significant milestone by driving Brulee to victory in the opening event at Gloucester Park on Friday night to bring up her one hundredth winner for the season.
The 27-year-old Roberts faces a busy evening with nine drives on the eleven-event program — and she considers that the Barry Howlett-trained Brulee is her best winning prospect when the three-year-old filly begins from the No. 2 barrier in the 2130m Beau Rivage For Buffet Dining Pace.
“Brulee is very tough and is in excellent form,” said Roberts who went close to landing her first century of winners for a season when she ended 2022 with 98 winners and 216 placings.
This year she has had 481 drives for 99 wins and 112 placings, and he career record stands at 449 wins.
After Brulee was unplaced at her first five starts she has blossomed, with her next 13 starts producing four wins, five seconds and four thirds.
Brulee has revealed wonderful fighting qualities throughout her career, and particularly at her two most recent appearances — when she sustained a powerful three-wide burst from the rear to win the group 3 Diamond Classic on May 19 and then two weeks later when she raced three wide early, moved the breeze after 550m and fought on with grim determination to win by a head from the pacemaker Our Lililou.
Her most serious rival on Friday night looms large as the polemarker, the Katja Warwick-trained Fly To Fame, a winner of four races and an eye-catching last-start third behind Brulee and Our Lililou when she surged home, out wide, from ninth at the bell.
Fly To Fame also possesses good gate speed and is an accomplished frontrunner.
Our Liilou, trained by Kim Prentice, will start from the No. 5 barrier and will be driven for the first time by Stuart McDonald, who replaces part-owner Corey Peterson, who has driven the filly at her past six starts, including her last-start second to Brulee.
Peterson will handle Seagrass, a Sunshine Beach filly who recently entered his Blythewood stables and impressed at Northam last Saturday night when she was driven by Roberts when she led from barrier two and won by a length from Jackie Daniels over 2190m.
Capel trainer-reinsman Aiden de Campo is hoping for an improved showing from his talented filly Between Two Thorns, who is awkwardly drawn at barrier seven.
“She was disappointing last start (when fifth behind Flametree on May 9),” said de Campo. “We have found a few problems with her, and hopefully they have been fixed.”
Dream barrier for Rockmyster
Up-and-coming four-year-old Rockmyster will begin from the perfect No. 1 barrier for the fourth time in the space of six starts when he contests the $30,000 Im Themightyquinn Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
And this should enable him to notch his fourth consecutive victory. His previous starts from the No. 1 barrier have resulted in all-the-way wins by comfortable margins for Serpentine trainer Dylan Egerton-Green.
“Getting another No. 1 barrier is unbelievable; it’s bizarre, and I’m not complaining,” said Egerton-Green, who is planning for another all-the-way win. “Leading is not his only strength; he is a good sit and kick horse as well, and this will be an attribute when he goes up in grade.”
This recent welter of perfect barriers has followed five back-line draws and front-line barriers of six and eight at his first seven Australian starts after arriving in WA with a New Zealand record of one win and one placing from nine starts.
Rockmyster gave his rivals little chance at his most recent appearance, over 2130m last Friday week, when he began speedily, set the pace and sprinted over the final 400m sections in 27.7sec. and 28.8sec. to beat Ardens Horizon by seven metres at a 1.57.1 rate.
Rockmyster will need to be at his peak to beat four-year-old mare Acharne Girl, the least experienced runner in the race, with five wins and four placings from 15 starts.
Acharne Girl, prepared by Gary Hall snr and driven by his son Gary, has resumed after a seven-month absence in dazzling form with two wins at Pinjarra followed by two more at Gloucester Park from four starts.
Acharne Girl is a versatile pacer whose wins at Gloucester Park on the past two Friday nights have been in 2130m events restricted to fillies and mares.
“I think she can handle herself against the boys,” said a confident Hall jnr.
Another runner who will have plenty of admirers is four-year-old Goodfellaz, who is prepared by Hopeland trainer Debra Lewis and will be driven by her husband Chris from the outside of the front line.
Goodfellaz, whose 19 starts have produced eight wins and eight placings, was most impressive last Friday night when he broke in the score-up and settled at the rear before he surged home from ninth at the bell to finish third behind Soho Dow Jones. He dashed over the final 400m sections in 28.5sec. and 27.9sec.
Rock On Top (barrier three) also is capable of a strong showing at his fourth appearance after a spell. Trainer-reinsman Aiden de Campo said he was pleased with the four-year-old’s fourth behind Soho Dow Jones last Friday night.
“It was good that he ran a better race last week after a very disappointing run at his previous start (sixth behind Rockmyster),” said de Campo.
de Campo has sound prospects in the final event in which he trains and drives speedy four-year-old mare Sovrana, a winner at seven of her 28 starts who will begin from the No. 5 barrier. Sovrana has finished second (behind Nullarbo Navajo and Steno) at her past two outings.
“She has been disappointing at her past couple of runs, even though she has run seconds,” said de Campo. “So, I have freshened her up, and hopefully she improves.”
The only other four-year-old in the race is the Greg and Skye Bond-trained mare Mighthavtime, who will be driven by Deni Roberts from the awkward draw at barrier six. Mighthavtime, a winner of four races in New Zealand, will be having her start in Australia, following a sixth at Pinjarra and a fifth behind Illawong Mustang at Gloucester Park after galloping 150m from home and then recovering to finish strongly, out four wide.
“Mighthavtime goes alright, and we think we have got her right,” said Roberts.
Hall chooses Prince Of Pleasure
Champion reinsman Gary Hall jnr has given punters a valuable lead by choosing to drive Prince Of Pleasure ahead of stablemate Finvarra in the 2130m Bridge Bar Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Hall drove Finvarra last Friday night when the five-year-old started from the No. 2 barrier, took the lead after 450m and went on to win easily from Himself at a 1.55.9 rate over 2130m, with Prince Of Pleasure finishing fourth four lengths from the winner after enjoying an ideal passage in the one-out, one-back position.
This week Prince Of Pleasure will begin from the prized No. 1 barrier, with Finvarra starting from barrier four in the field of five.
Hall, who has driven six-year-old Prince Of Pleasure at eight of his nine WA wins, said: “I’ll drive him because I think he will lead, and Finvarra looks the only danger.” Finvarra will be driven by Stuart McDonald.
Baskerville trainer Ryan Bell holds a powerful hand in the $30,000 Follow @Gloucesterpark On Twitter Pace over 2536m with brilliant pacers Shockwave and Swingband. He has engaged Hall to drive four-year-old Swingband, with Aiden de Campo to handle seven-year-old star Shockwave.
Shockwave will start from barrier No. 3, and Swingband will start from the outside in the field of four. Shockwave has resumed after an injury-enforced absence of 22 months in superb style with two dashing victories over 2130m last month. de Campo drove Swingband when the Alta Christiano gelding set the pace and won by two lengths from The Mustang last Friday week.
“I was really impressed with Swingband’s latest run,” said de Campo. “But Shockwave is definitely the better horse at this stage of their careers.”
Deni Roberts will drive the Greg and Skye Bond-trained Mighty Conqueror, who will start from barrier two. There is strong possibility that she might make use of the veteran pacer’s excellent gate speed in a bid to set the pace.
Mighty Conqueror, a winner of 21 races and $668,853 in prizemoney, reappeared after a spell last Friday week when he trailed the pacemaker Magnificent Storm and finished a well-beaten second to him over 2536m last Friday week when the final quarters were covered in 28.8sec. and 26.6sec.
Cork Can Run looks the part
Serpentine trainer-reinsman Dylan Egerton-Green holds a strong hand in the GPHR Western Crown features for two-year-olds at Gloucester Park on Friday night, with Cork Can Run and Nase Vira each favourably drawn at barrier three.
“Cork Can Run is the better of the two chances but the filly (Nase Vira) is getting better and better with every run,” he said.
Cork Can Run has shown excellent promise at his two starts, both over 2185m at Pinjarra when he led and finished a half-length second to Thelittle Master and then when he set the pace and won by three lengths from Golden Lode. He should carry too many guns for his rivals in the Western Crown for colts and geldings.
“Cork Can Run went really good at his first start when he was beaten by a nice horse,” said Egerton-Green. A week after that performance Cork Can Run gave a sample of his ability when he sprinted over the final 400m sections in 27.6sec. and 28.8sec.
One of his main rivals is likely to be the Michael Young-trained On The Back Foot, who will be driven by Gary Hall jnr from out wide at barrier eight. On the Back Foot raced three back on the pegs before finishing strongly to win by two lengths from Luci Kane over 2185m at Pinjarra on Monday of this week.
“On The Back Foot won easily, but it will be tough from barrier eight,” said Hall.
Egerton-Green is looking for Nase Vira to improve sharply on her first two runs when she finished sixth behind Bazaar Package and fourth behind Miss Hepburn, both at Gloucester Park.
“She is versatile, and hopefully she will get out of the gate a lot quicker this week,” he said. Nase Vira’s opponents include Princess Katie, Bazaar Package, Miss Hepburn and In A Wink.
Miss Hepburn set the pace and held on to win by a head from Princess Katie over 1730m last Friday night, with In A Wink improving from fifth at the bell to be an encouraging third, and Nase Vira running on from sixth, three back on the pegs, at the bell.
Princess Katie, to be driven by Gary Hall jnr for trainer Michael Young, began speedily from barrier five last week but was unable to wrest the early lead from Miss Hepburn (barrier three). She ran on gamely. “She will go forward at the start,” said Hall. “And if I can get to the front, she will be hard to beat.”
In A Wink will start from the inside of the back line and should be prominent, while Miss Hepburn will start from barrier two on the back line and should enjoy an ideal passage.
Eight mares will be on trial for the $50,000 Kerry Clarke Pace on Friday week when they contest the Beau Rivage Pace, with Shane Young’s brilliant four-year-old Wonderful To Fly favourably drawn at barrier three and proving extremely hard to beat.
Steno, a speedy beginner and a splendid frontrunner, will start from the coveted No. 1 barrier for trainer Cameron Ross and driver Jocelyn Young. After an impressive WA debut when she set the pace and won easily from Sovrana and Run For Mercy over 2130m she began out wide at barrier seven and raced in seventh position in a field of eight before finishing gamely to be fifth behind Ima Fivestar General, who rated 1.54.9 over1730m last Friday week.
“On face value her last-start run was a bit disappointing,” said Ross. “But when you look at the sectionals they ran, she got home okay and hit the line strongly. We have drawn inside Wonderful To Fly and I haven’t made up my mind on how she will be driven. I can’t fault her trackwork, and she worked well this morning (Tuesday).”
Gary Hall jnr said that the talented Eighteen Carat pleased him when he drove her to a smart trial win over 2185m at Pinjarra on Wednesday of last week (with final quarters of 27.7sec. and 28.7sec). But he said that the six-year-old faced a tough assignment from the outside barrier in the field of eight.
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