20 July 2023 | Ken Casellas
Galactic Star is shining
Veteran pacer Galactic Star is racing with youthful enthusiasm and the ten-year-old has bright prospects of celebrating his 132ND start with a victory in the $30,000 Rotary Club Of Fremantle Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The Greg and Skye Bond-trained gelding will be driven by Deni Roberts, who will be keen to take advantage of the No. 1 barrier in a bid to set the pace in what could well develop into a carbon copy of the 2019 Rotary Club Of Fremantle Pace when the Bonds were successful with 11-year-old Our Jimmy Johnstone, who led from the No. 1 barrier and won the 2536m event from stablemate Ocean Ridge.
That was Our Jimmy Johnstone’s 139TH race start, and it was the final win of his career which ended 18 starts later in March 2021, boasting a marvellous record of 157 starts for 32 wins and 55 placings for earnings of $802,399.
Galactic Star has amassed $752,866 from 33 wins and 38 placings from 131 starts. A winner seven times over the 2536m journey, he impressed last Friday night when he began from barrier five in a field of seven in a 2536m race. He was restrained at the start and was last 90m from the post before surging home out wide to finish third behind Steel The Show and The Mustang.
A fortnight earlier Galactic Star raced in third place in a field of four and finished solidly to be a close third behind Himself and Finvarra. And a week before that he led from barrier one and won over 2536m from The Code Breaker and The Mustang.
Finvarra (barrier three), The Mustang (barrier two) and Prince Of Pleasure (barrier four) are sure to prove formidable opponents this week in what could develop into a keenly fought tactical affair. All three are racing in sound form.
Finvarra’s past five starts have produced three seconds and two wins. He led from barrier one and dashed over the final quarters in 28.5sec. and 27.3sec. when he held on to win by a half-head from stablemate Prince Of Pleasure over 2130m last Friday week. Prince Of Pleasure led and won over 2130m and 1730m at his two previous outings.
The Mustang possesses excellent gate speed, and he is maintaining his solid form. He began speedily from the No. 6 barrier last Friday night but was unable to wrest the early lead from Steel The Show. However, he then enjoyed an ideal passage behind Steel The Show and finished gamely into second place.
Hall Of Fame trainer Gary Hall snr is hoping for a quinella result with Finvarra (Gary Hall jnr) and Prince Of Pleasure (Stuart McDonald) — to make amends for his pacer Jumpingjackmac’s second at $1.90 behind the Bond stable’s Double Up ($4.10) in last year’s Rotary Club Of Fremantle Pace.
Xceptional Arma back in action
Speedy filly Xceptional Arma is ready to resume racing on a winning note following a smart trial at Pinjarra on Thursday July 6.
She will start from barrier three in the 2130m Catalano Pace for two-year-old fillies at Gloucester Park on Friday night when Maddison Brown is likely to use her sparkling gate speed in a bid to set the pace. Xceptional Arma has led and won three times over 1730m at Gloucester Park.
At her only start over 2130m, in the Gold Bracelet on March 31, she had a tough run in the breeze for much of the way before running home with great determination to finish a head second to the pacemaker and $1.04 favourite Water Lou.
Xceptional Arma then won easily at her following two starts — in a heat and the final of the WA Gold Bullion feature event — before contesting the $400,000 national final of the Gold Bullion over 1609m at Menangle when she began speedily from barrier three before breaking into a gallop 20m after the start.
Thirty metres later she hit a wheel, met interference and broke, losing three lengths. She then raced in sixth position and just plugged home to finish eighth, twelve lengths behind the winner Eye Believe.
Xceptional Arma started from the outside barrier in the field of five in her recent 2185m trial at Pinjarra when she burst straight to the front and ambled through the opening 400m sections in 32.1sec. and 31.3sec. before sprinting over the final quarters in 29.4sec. and 29.1sec. to win by a length from Im Lightning Banner, rating 2.2.4.
Xceptional Arma is prepared by astute Banjup trainer Colin Brown, who will be represented by Relatively Arma in Friday night’s race. He will drive Relatively Arma, who faces a stern test from the outside barrier in the field of nine.
Relatively Arma, who has been placed at one of her three starts, warmed up in good style for this week’s race with a trial win over 2150m at Byford on Sunday morning. She led from barrier No. 2 in the six-horse trial and rated 2.2.6 in winning by a nose from the talented Lion Queen after final quarters of 30.4sec. and 28.3sec.
Trent Wheeler will drive the Aiden de Campo-trained San Remo Beach, a Bunbury winner in March and a last-start winner over 2130m at Gloucester Park last Friday week when she raced in the breeze and finished strongly to beat the pacemaker Atlantic Gem.
Lenora Jane, to be driven by Mitch Miller for trainer Kim Prentice, will have many friends when she starts from the No. 4 barrier. She impressed on debut when she led from barrier one and careered away from her five rivals in the final stages to win by four lengths from Seaside Rose. She sprinted over the final 400m in 26.9sec. and rated 1.56.4 over 2100m.
Colin and Maddison Brown also have excellent winning prospects with American Arma in the $22,000 Bridge Bar Pace in which the five-year-old mare is favourably drawn at barrier two.
American Arma, a winner at ten of her 38 starts, has a losing sequence of 15. But her recent runs have been full of merit. She began from barrier five in a field of six last Friday night and raced in last position before finishing strongly to be second to the frontrunning Stormyskyes, who dashed over the final 800m in 56.8sec.
A week earlier American Arma trailed the pacemaker Steno and fought on solidly when second to that smart mare over 2130m.
Stands no problem for Steel The Show
Emerging star Steel The Show will make his first appearance in a standing-start event in Western Australia when he lines up as the sole backmarker off 10 metres in the $22,000 Team Bond Pace over 2503m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The Bettors Delight six-year-old, trained by Greg and Skye Bond, has created a big impression since arriving in WA late last year, with his seven starts in the State, all in mobiles, resulting in five wins and two fourths, including his strong-finishing fourth behind Betterzippit in the $1 million Nullarbor slot race in April.
Punters should have no fears about supporting Steel The Show, considering that he is a vastly experienced campaigner of 23 standing-start events in New Zealand in which he always got away smoothly.
Those 23 starts produced three wins, six seconds, two thirds and three fourths. Many of those runs were in group feature events, including a splendid fourth behind super stars Copy That and Self Assured and the talented South Coast Arden in the group 1 New Zealand Cup over 3200m at Addington in November 2021.
It is well worth considering the records of the three pacers who finished ahead of him in that standing-start Cup: Copy That has earned $2,013,926 from 33 wins and 16 placings from 66 starts; Self Assured has raced 57 times for 29 wins and 24 placings for stakes of $2,153,669; and South Coast Arden has had 39 starts for 13 wins, eight placings and $504,022.
Steel The Show, who finished second to Kango (13 wins and $356,640) in the group 2 Franklin Cup, a 2700m stand in December 2021, has the potential to develop into a giant killer in WA and improve considerably on his current record of 52 starts for eleven wins, 15 placings and $273,658 in prizemoney.
His final appearance in New Zealand further enhanced his reputation as a top-flight pacer of outstanding ability. He was last in the field of five 400m from home before finishing strongly to be second to Copy That, who rated 1.52.3 over 1609m.
Steel The Show will be handled by Deni Roberts, who has driven him at his seven WA outings. He should prove too strong for his five rivals on Friday night, with Watching Our Coin and Ardens Horizon favoured to fill the minor placings.
Moonlite Drive excels in front
Experienced New Zealand-bred pacer Moonlite Drive has started from the prized No. 1 barrier three times in 2536m events at Gloucester Park for three all-the-way victories, an irrefutable fact which surely is a powerful indication that he will prove hard to beat in the $20,375 TAB Radio Pace on Friday night.
And the Michael Young-trained gelding who will be driven by Gary Hall jnr is in top form, following excellent performances from wide barriers at his past two appearances.
He was an $11 chance last Friday night when he began from the outside barrier in a field of six, with Hall content to keep him at the rear while the hot favourite Blitzembye was bowling along in front.
Moonlite Drive was still last with 100m to travel before he flooded home, out four wide, to finish second to Blitzembye. He recorded the fastest final 400 metres of the night — a sparkling 27.2sec.
Moonlite Drive is one of several outstanding winning prospects for Hall on the nine-event program. Hall will be popular with punters with High Price (race one), Rolling Fire (race two), Let It Linga (race three), Finvarra (race five), Mr Fantastic (race six) and Watching Our Coin (race eight).
Four-year-old High Price, trained by Gary Hall snr, looks outstanding in the 1730m Beau Rivage Pace in which he will start from the No. 1 barrier and should be capable of leading and beating his most formidable rivals Cheer The Major and Peligroso.
High Price warmed up for this week’s assignment in fine style last Friday night when he raced in the breeze and fought on determinedly to finish a half-length second to the pacemaker and odds-on favourite Hoppys Way over 2130m.
Cheer The Major is racing in wonderful style for trainer Gary Elson and is capable of causing an upset. He possesses excellent gate speed and his seconds to Watching Our Coin and Rockymyster at his past two starts have been full of merit.
Rolling Fire, trained by Justin Prentice, is handily drawn at barrier three in the 2130m Steelo’s Restaurant Pace for three-year-olds. He has won at six of his eleven starts, and his clash with Skylord (seven wins from 13 starts), Cotton On (seven wins from nine starts) and Lucapelo (four wins from 17 starts) should be a highlight.
Rolling Fire reappeared after a two-month absence when he sprinted home strongly from last at the bell to win by six lengths from William Gees Legacy at a 1.57.1 rate over 2100m at Bunbury on Wednesday of last week.
Like Rolling Fire, Skylord and Cotton On have emerged as leading contenders for the $200,000 WA Derby on November 3.
Skylord, trained and driven by Jocelyn Young, has resumed after a spell in excellent form, with wins at Bunbury and Gloucester Park and a strong effort in the breeze when third behind Mister Smartee and Crowd Control over 2536m at Gloucester Park.
Deni Roberts will drive Cotton On for leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond. The New Zealand-bred Cotton On will be attempting to extend his winning sequence to eight when he starts from barrier No. 5. He has resumed after a spell with convincing victories at Gloucester Park and Pinjarra.
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