22 June 2020 | Ken Casellas
Brown’s first group 1 success
Talented driver Maddison Brown celebrated his first group 1 success with an exuberant wave of the whip after guiding Longreach Bay to an impressive all-the-way victory in the $80,000 Allwood Stud Farm Westbred Classic for three-year-old colts and geldings at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The 24-year-old Brown took advantage of Longreach Bay’s favourable No. 2 barrier and used his sparkling gate speed to advantage.
But she had to survive an early scare when Al Guerrero began brilliantly from barrier seven and issued a powerful challenge for the lead over the first 200 metres. However, Al Guerrero broke under pressure and Longreach Bay, third favourite at $7.50, relaxed and was able to cover the lead time in a comfortable 37.8sec. and an opening 400m section in a leisurely 31.9sec.
“I was a little concerned when we were challenged early,” Brown said. “Al Guerrero was never going to get there (to the front), but I was worried that Longreach Bay was going to burn a little bit more than I wanted. He can fire up, but he relaxed super tonight and wasn’t hanging as badly as he was at his previous start (when he led and won the Westsired Pace).
Longreach Bay dashed over the final quarters in 27.9sec. and 28.4sec. and fought on grimly to defeat Poisedtopounce ($3.90) by a head, with a half-neck to the $1.90 favourite Gardys Legacy. The winner rated 1.57.4 over the 2130m.
Longreach Bay is trained in Coolup by Peter King, who bred the Renaissance Man gelding and races him in partnership with his wife Barbara Pellick and his son Michael, has earned $74,710 from five wins and two thirds from ten starts. Friday night’s victory gave King his first group 1 success as a trainer.
Brown is enjoying a successful season in which she has driven 33 winners and 64 placegetters. She drove more than a hundred winners at her first stint in harness racing before riding 29 winners and 66 placegetters from 266 rides as an apprentice jockey in 2017 and 2018. She still combines her harness racing activities with her work in administration at the St John of God Murdoch Hospital.
A chip off the old block
Blue Chip Adda, sold for $16,000 at the 2018 APG yearling sale in Perth, has inherited much of the ability of her dam Adda Rising Star and she completed a winning hat-trick when Capel trainer Aiden de Campo drove her to a dashing victory in the $80,000 Allwood Stud Farm Westbred Classic for three-year-old fillies at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Blue Chip Adda, sixth favourite at $18.90, stormed home from eighth at the bell to win decisively from $51 chance Suing You, who finished strongly from tenth at the bell. Star Fromthepalace ($5), fifth three back on the pegs at the bell, was an unlucky third after being hampered for room in the final circuit.
Blue Chip Adda now has earned $89,554 from six wins and seven placings from 22 starts and has bright prospects of emulating the deeds of Adda Rising Star, who raced 84 times for 16 wins, 27 placings and $184,608 in stakes.
Star of Diamonds ($34) burst to an early lead from barrier three before relinquishing the front after 500m to the $2.25 favourite Alta Cinderella, who settled down in the one-out, one-back position, but raced greenly as Gary Hall jnr sent her forward, three wide, after 350m.
The inexperienced Alta Cinderella began to weaken in the closing stages and Blue Chip Adda, fifth on the home turn, surged home to burst to the front 40m from the post. She rated 1.56.3, with final quarters of 28.4sec. and 28.5sec.
Blockjorg maintained her sound form and fought on doggedly from sixth at the bell to finish fourth. Alta Cinderella wilted to finish fifth, but she gives the impression of developing into a quality performer.
Double Expresso went into the race with a splendid record of 12 wins, seven placings and $312,252, but she had no luck and finished tenth. From the inside of the back line Double Expresso raced in seventh position, four back on the pegs and was still hampered for room after moving into the one-wide line in the last lap.
Fifty minutes after Blue Chip Adda’s victory which gave de Campo his first group 1 success as a trainer, he scored again as a trainer when Mark Johnson drove $12 chance Sunny Mach to a half-head victory over Sweet Sassymolassy in the 2100m Sky Racing Pace at Bunbury’s Donaldson Park.
Warwick’s formula successful
Star reinsman Ryan Warwick stuck to a winning formula when he drove $5.90 chance Ocean Ridge to a thrilling last-stride nose victory over $2.15 favourite Chicago Bull in the 2536m Winter Cup at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
This gave Warwick his second success in the feature event. It came 16 years after he drove $6 chance Fernlea to victory over Highest Honour and Party Date in the 2004 Winter Cup after Fernlea enjoyed the run of the race in the one-out, one-back position.
Ocean Ridge, a New Zealand-bred five-year-old, gave champion trainers Greg and Skye Bond their first success in a Winter Cup. The Mach Three gelding had finished second at each of his three previous starts and his victory improved his record to 39 starts for 13 wins, 11 placings and $193,409 in prizemoney. After three wins from ten New Zealand starts Ocean Ridge has had 29 starts in Western Australia for ten wins and seven placings.
The Bond camp dominated Friday night’s Cup, with $2.30 second fancy Our Jimmy Johnstone setting a solid pace, with Mighty Santana ($23) in the breeze and Ocean Ridge trailing him in the one-out, one-back position.
Chicago Bull started from the No. 5 barrier and was restrained to last in the field of six runners. Gary Hall jnr sent him forward with a three-wide burst with a lap to travel and Chicago Bull eventually worked his way to the front 100m from the post. He failed by a nose and trainer Gary Hall snr declared his was the run of the race.
Chicago Bull and the Bond runners are now set for yet another keen battle when they clash in next Friday night’s Past Presidents Cup.
Black Jack Baby dominant
All-conquering filly Black Jack Baby continued in devastating form with a runaway victory in the $20,000 Westsired Pace for two-year-old fillies at Gloucester Park on Friday night and she looks set to maintain this dominance when she contests the $80,000 Westbred Classic next Friday night.
And if she wins and takes no ill-effects from her recent racing, breeder-owner-trainer Shane Quadrio will set her the goal of challenging the State’s best two-year-old colts and geldings in the $125,000 Golden Slipper on July 10.
“We will see how she pulls up after the Westbred, and we’ll let her tell us,” Quadrio said. “If she performs in next week’s race like she did tonight I think she has earned the right to have a crack at the Slipper.
“There’s some really nice colts out there, but if she gets the opportunity, she can sprint. She has done a wonderful job so far.”
Chris Voak took advantage of Black Jack Baby’s brilliant gate speed and the filly, the hot favourite at $1.04, led easily from the No. 2 barrier. After a slow lead time of 40sec. and comfortable quarters of 32sec., 30.6sec. and 29.3sec. Black Jack Baby careered away from the opposition with a dazzling final 400m in 27.7sec. to win b six lengths from Star For Me.
The win was Black Jack Baby’s sixth from seven starts for stakes of $49,311.
Bracken Sky now more tractable
New South Wales-bred pacer Bracken Sky gave 30-year-old reinsman Luke Edwards a successful return to race driving when he set the pace and won comfortably from Ideal Investment in the 2130m TABtouch Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“Drawing barrier one was just what he wanted,” said Edwards, who was having his first drive after taking a six-week break to freshen himself up.
“I was a bit worried about whether he would relax in front. But I was quietly confident because he’s more tractable this time in. The previous time I led with him he put his head on his chest and though he wasn’t running a quick time, he was just pulling hard and wasting his energy. Tonight, he was conserving his energy and was able to kick away when we wanted to.”
A main reason why Bracken Sky raced fiercely in his early starts in WA was because he was used to the helter-skelter of contesting 11609m sprints in Sydney.
The five-year-old Bracken Sky, the $2.60 favourite on Friday night, is proving a good buy for Wanneroo trainer Debbie Padberg, her husband John and long-time stable clients and friends Don and Adele Simmonds, of Northam.
He was a $14,000 purchase nine months ago after racing 45 times in NSW for ten wins and 14 placings. His 23 WA starts have produced two wins and seven placings for stakes of $38,238 for an overall record of 68 starts for 12 wins, 21 placings and $107,025.
Bracken Sky, by Rock N Roll Heaven, is out of the Live Or Die mare Redemption, who had 27 starts for ten wins, six placings and stakes of $60,768. Bracken Sky is a half-brother to Absolution, who won five races for the Padberg stable before continuing his career in South Australia where he has had five starts at Globe Derby Park for three wins and two seconds to boost his career record to 125 starts for 13 wins, 14 placings and $112,975 in prizemoney.
A bonus for the Padbergs was that their evergreen seven-year-old Bad Round, an $81 outsider driven by Jocelyn Young, rattled home out five wide from last in the field of 12 at the 250m mark to finish third and pay $22.50 for a place.
Bad Round, purchased for $20,000 as a three-year-old by John and Debbie Padberg after being unplaced at two starts in New Zealand and winning at four of his eight starts in New South Wales, has a losing sequence of 56. But he has been a marvellous moneyspinner for the Padbergs, with his 157 WA starts producing ten wins, 30 placings for earnings of $149,912. His overall record stands at 167 starts for 14 wins, 32 placings and $164,283.
“He has been a good buy,” said Edwards. “He’s been to Gloucester Park almost every Friday night for the three or four seasons.”
Bracken Sky’s win on Friday night gave Edwards his 102ND driving success. “I like driving, but am now focusing on training,” he said. “I have trained between 20 and 30 winners, including five with Leap Of Faith, three with Mapua Legend and two with Springsteen.”
Edwards, who is stable foreman for Debbie Padberg, has just purchased Henrik Larsson, an unraced Art Major three-year-old colt, who is due to arrive in Perth from New Zealand next month.
Baylan Jett is a good buy
Powerful six-year-old Baylan Jett, is built like a tank and is proving an excellent buy for Robert (Tex) Dower, who outlaid $12,000 to purchase him in November 2018.
The Courage Under Fire gelding, a $16 chance driven by Aiden de Campo, chalked up his fifth win for Dower and his Pinjarra trainer David Young when he was tenth at the bell and charged home, out five wide, over the final 300m to snatch a head victory over Ultimate Offer in the 2130m Retravision Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Under Young’s care Baylan Jett has had 48 starts for Dower for five wins, 13 placings and stakes of $68,730. When Madeleine Young drove Baylan Jett to victory in an $18,000 event over 2536m at Gloucester Park on May 3, 2019 it gave Dower his first metropolitan-class win in 37 years as an owner.
Young has always had a good opinion of Baylan Jett, who was prepared as a youngster by his parents Ron and Karen, and when the gelding was put up for sale for $12,000, he recommended the pacer to Dower.
The new owner had immediate success, with Baylan Jett winning at his first start for him, when trained by Aiden Warwick and driven by Aldo Cortopassi at Bunbury on November 17, 2018. Baylan Jett was then transferred to Young and he was a $12.30 chance when Gary Hall jnr drove him to win at his next start ten days later in a country class event at Gloucester Park.
Greg and Skye Bond prepared Baylan Jett for his first four wins before Ryan Bell won three races with him and Warwick two more before the gelding went to Young’s stable in Pinjarra.
Baylan Jett is the thirteenth and last foal (and most successful) out of Hilarion mare Liberty Lombo, who won seven minor races in Victoria. Baylan Jett now has raced 92 times for 14 wins, 29 placings and $136,025.
“I’ve had a lot of issues with him, with his feet,” said Young. “But we’ve worked out a regime which suits him. The best thing is to keep him off the track and give him no hopple work. He’s better off being driven in a jog cart on the sand.
“One of the first time I worked him at Pinjarra he went 1.53.9, but he couldn’t walk the next day because his feet were so sore. We rectified that with a change of shoeing and we’re on to a good thing with that, even when he loses a shoe, like he did tonight when he cast his off fore shoe at the 400m.”
Infatuation is too good
Lightly-raced New Zealand-bred four-year-old Infatuation looks set for a bright future after impressing with a convincing victory in the 2130m Pacing WA Supports WA Bred Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
After having four starts in New Zealand for a win and three seconds, Infatuation has excelled for leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond in Western Australia where his 12 starts have produced eight wins and one second placing.
Favourite at $1.50, Infatuation was sent to the front after 300m by star reinsman Ryan Warwick and the American Ideal gelding gave his rivals little chance by dashing over the final quarters in 27.7sec. and 28.8sec. to win by a length and a half from $23 chance Boom Time, who fought on gamely after enjoying an ideal passage, one-out and one-back. Walsh ($26) ran ion strongly, out wide, from eighth at the bell to be third.
Infatuation is the eighth foal out of In The Pocket mare Saturation and is a full-brother to Besotted and Rain Man.
Besotted raced 11 times in WA for two wins and three placings and was retired after his 70 starts produced 176 wins, 22 placings and $302,677 in prizemoney. Rain Man had 44 starts for eight wins, 11 placings and $72,967.
Slow start, fast finish for Typhoon Tiff
Smart mare Typhoon Tiff enjoyed a stroll in the park when she recorded an effortless victory in the 2130m Choices Flooring Free-For-All for mares at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The Bettors Delight four-year-old, trained and driven by Colin Brown, was favourite at $1.30 from the No. 1 barrier and was able to amble through the lead time in a very slow 41.4sec. and the opening 400m section in a dawdling 33.3sec. Then, after quarters in 30.3sec. and 28.8sec. Typhoon Tiff sprinted over the final quarter in 27.7sec. to win by just under a length from Suzies Gem, who sat behind the pacemaker all the way.
Typhoon Tiff, bred and owned by Colleen Lindsay, has amassed $167,407 in prizemoney after nine wins and three placings from just 16 starts. She gave a sample of her class as a three-year-old last season when she won the group 2 Daintys Daughter Classic and the group 1 Westbred Classic.
Powerplay on the way up
Rich And Spoilt gelding Powerplay maintained his steady improvement when he caused a minor upset as an $8 chance when he defeated the $1.70 favourite Arma Einstein in the $20,000 Westsired Pace for two-year-old colts and geldings at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Owned and trained by Debra Lewis, Powerplay was driven by Chris Lewis, who won two races behind Powerplay’s dam Mene Jaccka, who was retired after seven wins, 17 placings and $48,105 in prizemoney from 95 starts.
Powerplay started from the inside of the back line and settled down in fifth position, three back on the pegs before Lewis got him off the inside to fill the favourable position, one-out and one-back.
Arma Einstein trailed the early leader Robbie Rocket before moving to the breeze after Dylan Egerton-Green sent the hard-pulling Regal Aura to the front after 600m. Arma Einstein got to the front 300m from home before being overhauled by Powerplay 120m from the finish.
Bletchley Park is Mr Consistency
Victorian-bred four-year-old Bletchley Park is one of the State’s most consistent pacers and he boosted his earnings to $221,309 when Dylan Egerton-Green drove him to an emphatic victory by 8m over the fast-finishing Bettor Be Oscar in the 2130m Westral Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Egerton-Green is forming a wonderful association with the American Ideal horse, having driven him five times for three wins, one second and one third. Bletchley Park has rarely performed below par in his 33-start career of 14 wins and 12 placings.
Bletchley Park, owned by Albert Walmsley, was favourite at $1.90 from out wide at barrier eight. He settled down in eighth position in the field of nine and was sent forward, three wide, approaching the bell before surging to the front 300m from home. He rated 1.55.6.
Another wonderfully consistent four-year-old Cyclone Banner is racing in top form for Mt Helena trainer Ray Williams and reinsman Aldo Cortopassi. He was the $1.20 favourite from the No. 1 barrier in the 2130m Community TAB Pace and he gave his backers no cause for any concern when he set the pace and sprinted the final 800m in 56.2sec. to win by a length and a half from the fast-finishing $81 outsider McArdles Gem.
Cyclone Banner, a winner at two of his six starts in New Zealand, has had 19 starts in WA for nine wins and five placings.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
