10 February 2022 | Ken Casellas
Minstrel to emulate Mighty Conqueror
Champion trainers Greg and Skye Bond look set to win the $50,000 Etch Coatings Lord Mayor’s Cup at Gloucester Park on Friday night with star pacer Minstrel, who has drawn perfectly at barrier No. 2 in the 2536m group 2 feature event.
The Bonds won the previous Lord Mayor’s Cup when Mighty Conqueror began speedily from the No. 2 barrier, set the pace and won from fast-finishing stablemate Vampiro when the race was run over 2130m in December 2020.
Minstrel will be driven by star reinsman Ryan Warwick, who finished fifth with Galactic Star when Mighty Conqueror was successful, with Dylan Egerton-Green in the sulky.
Egerton-Green will drive Patronus Star from barrier five in Friday night’s Cup. The Bond stable will also be represented with nine-year-old Galactic Star, who will be driven by Deni Roberts from out wide at barrier seven.
Five-year-old Minstrel gave a bold frontrunning display when he won the 2536m Fremantle Cup two starts ago. He held on to beat Patronus Star by a short half-head, with that pacer impressing greatly with his effort in charging home, out seven wide, from eleventh at the bell.
Minstrel then gave another superb performance when fifth in the 2936m WA Pacing Cup last week. He raced in seventh place, one-out and two-back, until Warwick dashed him forward, three wide, 1050m from home. He raced three wide for the remainder of the race in which he was third on the home turn and finished just two metres behind the winner, Wildwest.
Patronus Star followed Minstrel’s three-wide run before wilting to finish tenth. His previous form was excellent, and he cannot be left out of calculations.
Hall Of Fame trainer Gary Hall snr, who has won the Lord Mayor’s Cup a record eight times, will be represented by Diego (Gary Hall jnr) and Heez Our Perseus (Maddison Brown).
Diego faces a tough assignment from the outside barrier (No. 3) on the back line, while Heez Our Perseus will start from barrier four and will be tested against several better-performed rivals. However, he has won at six of his past 17 starts, including a head victory over Mighty Ronaldo over 2130m last Friday night when he finished strongly from fourth at the bell.
Hall snr has won the Lord Mayor’s Cup with Trickey Bey (1994), Abit Rich (1997), Live To Reign (2007), Talk To Me Courage (2010), Livingontheinterest (2014), Northvierw Punter (2015), Cyamach (2016) and Chicago Bull (2018).
Boyanup trainer-reinsman Cody Wallrodt has Babyface Adda racing keenly, and the WA-bred six-year-old should be prominent from barrier three. Babyface Adda set the pace and won from Gambit over 2536m last Friday night.
Bunbury trainer Stephen Reed was delighted with the strong performances from Bletchley Park and Golden State when they charged home, out wide, from the rear to finish first and third, respectively, in the 2130m Parliamentarians Cup last Friday night. Lindsay Harper will drive Bletchley Park (barrier seven) and his son Kyle will handle Golden State (barrier eight).
Ten-year-old Vultan Tin is handily drawn on the inside of the back line. And reinsman Chris Voak said he expected a strong effort from the 194-start veteran, who worked hard in the breeze and finished a nose second to Bletchley Park last Friday night.
“It’s not that bad a draw,” said Voak. “He was brave last week and should benefit from that run.”
Savvy Bromac on trial for Sydney
Star pacing mare Savvy Bromac will be on trial for a trip to Sydney when she resumes after a seven-week absence in the $26,000 Simmonds Steel Decorative Screens Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The New Zealand-bred five-year-old faces a stern test from the outside barrier (No. 9) when she will clash with talented three-year-old filly Taking The Miki and several quality mares, including Sheez Our Hope, My Sweet Deal, Aly Shar, Blissfullabbey and My Prayer.
Owner Karl Deiley is keen for Savvy Bromac, a winner at 12 of her 31 starts, to contest the $200,000 Queen Elizabeth Mile for mares at Menangle on Saturday fortnight (February 26), and possibly the $50,000 Robin Dundee Stakes a week earlier.
“If Savvy Bromac can get on a flight to Sydney she will be going to Sydney for the big races for mares,” said trainer Nathan Turvey. “We decided not to run her in the Pacing Cup. Instead, we have freshened her up for the Sydney races.
“Karl wants her to run in Sydney. He said this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Whether she’s up to it, we don’t know. She is the class mare in Friday night’s race, but the wide draw makes it hard. She is fast and we will likely rely on her finishing speed.”
Savvy Bromac will be driven by Gary Hall jnr, who replaces the suspended Emily Suvaljko, who has driven the mare 13 times for six wins and three placings. Hall has driven Savvy Bromac four times for two wins and a second placing.
Chris Voak, who will be handling the Ross Olivieri-trained Taking The Miki, said he would be taking a cautious approach.
“Ross nominated Taking The Miki for the event for three-year-olds on Friday night, but he opted to start the filly in this race, knowing that she would draw the No. 1 barrier,” said Voak. “His opinion of her was that the way she has trained on, she would prove very hard to beat, even up against the good mares.
“I thought it was a big call; she will have to be at her best. However, even if she is crossed (at the start) she would still be a good each-way chance.”
In-form reinsman Kyle Harper has chosen to drive Sheez Our Hope ahead of My Sweet Deal (who will be driven by Harper’s father Lindsay).
“It is a very interesting race,” said Kyle Harper. “Even though Taking The Miki is a three-year-old, she can rattle off some pretty good times. So, it’s going to be tricky for the mares drawn wide to make up ground.”
Sheez Our Hope, trained by Mike Cornwall, will start from the outside barrier (No. 3) on the back line. She possesses a brilliant turn of speed, like she revealed two starts ago when she was last at the 600m and charged home to win from Mirragon at a 1.55.9 rate over 2130m.
Taking The Miki is sure to give her rivals something to chase. She won four times as a two-year-old last year and has been placed at her past five starts. Whether she can hold out mares of the calibre of Savvy Bromac, Sheez Our Hope, Aly Shar and My Sweet Deal remains to be seen.
First WA stand for Doc Holliday
Smart New Zealand-bred five-year-old Doc Holliday warmed up for his return to racing after a four-month absence with an impressive victory in a 2150m mobile trial at Byford on Sunday morning.
He will start from barrier No. 3 on the front line in the Etch Coatings Professional Powder Coating Handicap, a standing-start event over 2503m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
His four wins from seven starts in Western Australia have been in mobiles, and his only appearance in a stand was at his second-last start in New Zealand at Alexandra Park last June when he galloped hopelessly from barrier three on the front line.
He did not get into a pace until after galloping for 250m, and he settled down in tenth and last position, about 50 metres from the leader before making up a good deal of ground to finish seventh in the field of ten.
“He qualified in New Zealand to race in stands, and he is a genuine kind of horse who I expect to step and step well,” said trainer Michael Young. “I think he will be favourite and prove hard to beat. If he gets to the front, I can’t see him being beaten.”
Gary Hall jnr will drive Doc Holliday, who raced without cover for the first 550m of his Byford trial on Sunday before forging to the front and covering the final quarters in 29.6sec. and 28.3sec. on his way to beating stablemate Zazu by 4m, rating 1.56.8.
“His trial was really good,” said Young. “He’s a bit of a lazy horse, and I don’t think he was fully extended in the trial, so he seems to have come back in good form after a break.”
Looming as the main rivals for Doc Holliday on Friday night are the Nathan Turvey-trained Captured Delight and Regal Scribe, who will begin off the 10m mark. Captured Delight, to be driven by Mitch Miller, notched her eleventh victory when she set the pace and beat Beat City and Babyface Adda in the Northam Cup, a 2560m stand, last Saturday fortnight.
Regal Scribe had a tough run in the breeze before winning a 2130m mobile event from Tiger Royal and Joey James last Friday night. “They should both run a good race,” said Turvey, who will be in the sulky behind Regal Scribe.
“They tell me that Regal Scribe was a good stand horse in Adelaide.”
Zazu, who led early and then sat behind Doc Holliday in Sunday’s Byford trial, will start from the No. 1 barrier in the opening event on Friday night, the 2130m Simmonds Steel Precision Laser Cutting Pace in which he will be handled by Gary Hall jnr.
This will be Zazu’s first appearance since he finished a sound fourth behind Finvarra at Gloucester Park late last October. “His trial was pretty good, and he would’ve needed it,” said Young.
“I hadn’t done much with him in between (since his latest run). The plan is to lead; he has the speed to lead, and if he takes his trial performance into the race, he will be hard to beat.”
Backline runners Star Of Willoughby and Pradason appear to be Zazu’s chief rivals, while Kyle Harper is looking forward to driving the Bob Mellsop-trained Iamthefirecracker from barrier two at his first start for almost three months.
“Iamthefirecracker is a nice horse who usually goes well fresh,” said Harper. “It would be nice to find the front, and if he did, he would take some beating.”
Gambit is overdue
Champion reinsman Gary Hall jnr denied that New Zealand-bred six-year-old Gambit is a non-winner, and he is looking forward to the gelding breaking through for an overdue win when he starts from the No. 2 barrier in the 2130m Simmonds Steel Fencing And Gates Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Gambit, trained by Gary Hall snr, has been a beaten favourite at four of his past five starts which have produced four seconds and a fourth placing.
Hall jnr is more hopeful than optimistic, saying: “It looks as though he is going to be in the breeze again (as he was when a close second to Babyface Adda last Friday night). I probably under drove him at his past two starts, really.
“I think he can outstay Arma Einstein (who is expected to set the pace for Colin Brown from the No. 1 barrier). But I’ll have to be a bit careful because there are some nice sit-kick horses in the race, too.”
Valentines Brook (barrier four) is in fine form for Ravenswood trainer-driver Jocelyn Young, and the five-year-old will have many admirers. The gelding’s three starts since resuming after a spell have produced strong-finishing seconds to Dominus Factum and Cordero and a last-start victory over Rock Me Over after he had raced wide in the middle stages and then worked hard in the breeze.
Chris Voak, as usual, will have a busy night, with drives in nine of the ten events. He is confident that the Ross Olivieri-trained seven-year-old Carrera Mach will fight out the finish of the Etch Coatings Sandblasting Specialists Pace over 2130m.
Carrera Mach, who has a losing sequence of nine, will start from the No. 3 barrier. “I give him a good chance, and if he is able to lead, he would be very hard to beat,” he said. “He is probably my best for the night.”
Carrera Mach ran home solidly from tenth at the bell to finish fourth behind Star Of Willoughby last Friday week. His toughest rival is likely to be Vespa, who will start from the outside barrier in the field of nine at his second outing after a spell.
“Vespa’s sectionals were very good first-up when he got home well to finish fifth behind Blitzembye last Friday night,” said trainer Michael Young.
Voak is also looking forward to Sangue Reale producing a strong effort from the No. 3 barrier in the Simmonds Steel And Balustrade And Handrails Pace. “I think he is a good each-way chance, and he’s not without a winning hope,” he said.
“Taking The Miki and Vultan Tin are sure to run well, and Sameplace Sametime should be handy in the final event.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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