16 May 2022 | Ken Casellas
Swingband is set for stardom
Powerful gelding Swingband enhanced his reputation as the State’s best three-year-old pacer when he annihilated the opposition in the $50,000 Team Bond Pearl Classic at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
His runaway victory gave talented reinsman Michael Grantham his eleventh group 2 success — and the 26-year-old should achieve his long-held ambition of notching his elusive first victory in a group 1 feature event later this year.
Grantham will be in the sulky when Swingband contests the group 1 $100,000 Westbred Classic on September 9 and the group 1 $200,000 WA Derby on November 4. Both of those events appear to be at the mercy of Swingband, who has raced 15 times for nine wins, three placings and $165,002 in prizemoney.
Grantham has contested 46 group 1 events for ten placings, and he thoroughly deserves to break through for his first victory at the highest level.
Trainer Ryan Bell was delighted with Swingband’s performance on Friday night when he showed far too much pace for the speedy polemarker Dardy Boy to burst to the front after about 120m, and after a smart lead time of 36.8sec. and modest opening quarters of the final mile in 30.7sec. and 30.4sec. he dashed over the final 400m sections in 28.8sec. and 28.4sec.
Swingband, the $1.30 favourite from barrier two, careered away from his rivals to beat the $9 second fancy Paul Edward by six lengths, rating 1.57.2 over the 2130m. Five lengths farther back was the $126 outsider Peter Romeo, who finished strongly from eighth at the bell.
“He is a class act and is right in the zone,” said the 35-year-old Bell. “It was very good for his confidence. Michael didn’t pull the plugs, and I think that, mentally, Swingband is as good as he could possibly be, going into the paddock for a spell before I bring him back to get ready for the Westbred Classic and WA Derby.”
Symington’s city first
Highly-promising young reinsman Kyle Symington landed his first metropolitan-class winner when he produced a flawless exhibition to guide Miss Limelight to an impressive victory in the $18,500 Kallen and Danielle Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Miss Limelight, a $15.80 chance from barrier two on the back line in the 2536m event, enjoyed a perfect trip in the one-out and one-back position before he was sandwiched between runners with 400m to travel.
But the 20-year-old Symington was able to get into the clear at the 350m and the five-year-old, the only mare in the field, finished strongly to burst past the $7.50 chance Euphoria in the final 45m and race away to beat that pacer by more than a length.
“I’m so happy that I was able to win with one of Ryan’s horses,” said Symington, who has worked as a stablehand for Baskerville trainer Ryan Bell for the past six months. This was Symington’s 48TH winner in a burgeoning career.
Bell was fulsome in his praise of Symington, saying: “He is so dedicated. His work ethic is top notch, and he wants to be the best, and he is doing everything right to succeed to be the best. Horses naturally go for him, and the stable has scored a goal by employing him.”
The New Zealand-bred Miss Limelight, a five-year-old by Bettors Delight, ended a losing sequence of 14, stretching back to last August when she won the group 3 WASBA Four and Five-Year-Old feature event for mares. She has done all her racing in Western Australia, with her 40 starts producing 11 wins, 11 placings and stakes of $94,927.
She is the ninth foal out of the unraced mare Its Showtime, and is a full-sister to Elios, who earned $220,176 from ten wins and eight placings from 28 starts, including a notable victory in a group 1 Messenger Free-For-All at Alexandra Park.
A week before Friday night’s victory, Miss Limelight also started from barrier two on the back line in the group 2 WASBA Breeders Stakes when she raced three back on the pegs and was hampered for room in the final stages when an unlucky fourth behind Savvy Bromac.
In Friday night’s race the $1.55 favourite Fanci A Dance had a tough run in the breeze when he was unable to wrest the lead from the polemarker Our Sequel ($7). Euphoria, who trailed Miss Limelight in the one-out, two-back position, took the lead 300m from home but was unable to hold out the fast-finishing Miss Limelight.
“I was very happy that Fanci A Dance was not able to get to the front,” said Symington. “If he had, it would have left Miss Limelight racing without cover.”
Bell said that Miss Limelight was long overdue for a win, saying: “She has been most unlucky, mainly due to bad barriers. However, I have been pleased with every run I have given her.”
While They Pray’s successful comeback
Exactly eleven years ago, on Friday May 13, 2011, Slick Bird finished third behind Artemis Belle in the WA Oaks, and her second foal While They Pray marked the occasion by scoring an upset victory in the $30,000 Allira and Jett Free-For-All at Gloucester Park on Friday night, May 13, 2022.
It was a noteworthy triumph for the lightly-raced six-year-old While They Pray, who was making his third appearance on his comeback trail, after 20 months off the scene.
While They Pray, prepared at Pinjarra by Michael George, was a $24.80 outsider, with Texas Tiger the hot $1.30 favourite.
When Texas Tiger contacted an arm of the mobile barrier and broke into a bad gallop, losing almost 50m, Lindsay Harper dashed While They Pray forward from barrier four. But While They Pray was trapped three wide, forcing Harper to restrain the gelding back to fifth position in the field of six.
“I had planned to restrain at the start,” explained Harper. “But when Texas Tiger galloped, I decided to go forward. But after being caught out wide, I then reverted to plan B and decided to go back.”
Dont Bother Me None ($7.50) set the pace, with Vultan Tin ($15) in the breeze, thus giving While They Pray an ideal trail in the one-out, one-back position.
Vultan Tin eventually got to the front 550m from home, while Texas Tiger, after making up considerable lost ground, was charging forward, out four wide. Texas Tiger took a narrow lead at the 220m mark before wilting in the home straight as Cordero ($7.50) was finishing stoutly.
While They Pray finished determinedly to get up and win by a half-head from Cordero, with $51 chance Tyler Brett flying home, out wide, to be a nose away in third place. Vultan Tin finished fourth, with Texas Tiger a most unlucky fifth.
George was unable to bring While They Pray to Gloucester Park because of work commitments as a trade assistant at Alcoa, leaving his wife Prue as an able substitute trainer, who explained that the Alta Christiano gelding had twice suffered damage to his near front tendon.
“He made it back to trials after recovering from his first tendon injury, but then did a tendon again, in the same leg but a bit higher,” she said. “This is his third run back, and so far, it is so good.”
While They Pray now has earned $139,888 from 15 wins and nine placings from 35 starts. His dam Slick Bird (by Bettors Delight) raced 34 times for ten wins, nine placings and $89,999 in stakes. Slick Bird’s first foal Slick Artist has earned $256,184 from 18 wins and 29 placings from 93 starts, and her third foal Faster Than Dad has had 14 starts for five wins, three placings and $29,172.
Heez Our Perseus continues to shine
New Zealand-bred six-year-old Heez Our Perseus maintained his excellent form and revealed plenty of strength when he raced without cover before dashing away from his rivals over the final 400m to score an easy victory in the 2130m Money Magnet Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Trained by Gary Hall snr and driven confidently by Maddison Brown, Heez Our Perseus, the third favourite at $3.80, is proving a wonderful bargain for Brown, Karen Hall and Glen Moore, who purchased him for $15,000 about 15 months ago. He now has had 32 starts for his new owners for eight wins, six seconds and four thirds for earnings of $102,942, taking his career record to 55 starts for 13 wins, 13 placings and stakes of $180,504.
Polemarker Our Star Watch was the $3.20 favourite, who set a slow early pace with a lead time of 39.9sec. and an opening quarter of the final mile in 31.4sec. Brown was unconcerned as Heez Our Perseus relaxed in the breeze, a couple of lengths from the pacemaker.
After a second quarter of 29.1sec. Brown urged Heez Our Perseus forward and the third 400m section was run in 28.1sec., with Heez Our Perseus getting on terms with the leader 550m from home. He led clearly at the 400m and gradually drew away to win by almost two lengths from Our Star Watch, rating 1.58.6.
Svilicich is on the ball
Veteran trainer Tony Svilicich has always been a keen judge of horseflesh, and he made a sound investment when he purchased a seven-year-old trotter Goodtime Pe Rabbit for a mere $5000 in May 2021.
“I watched him race (on the internet) when he was a young horse and he looked good,” said Svilicich. “And I thought that I could bring him back and win a couple of races.”
Svilicich was spot on with his judgment, and Goodtime Pe Rabbit, who managed three wins in Victoria and one in South Australia from 56 starts, won at his first four starts in Western Australia in June and July last year.
Goodtime Pe Rabbit resumed after a spell in splendid form with a first-up second at $41, beaten a head by Majestic Dream at Pinjarra on May 2, followed by a third behind Betty Bootz Off at Pinjarra a week later.
He then struck his best form with a convincing victory in the 2536m Rod Pescud Trot at Gloucester Park on Friday night when he started at $3.50 and was driven with considerable confidence by Deni Roberts. He raced three wide early before being restrained into sixth position as the only runner in the one-wide line.
Ace Commander, the $2.25 favourite, was setting the pace as Goodtime Pe Rabbit continued in the breeze. He got to the front with 300m to travel, and a wilting Ace Commander broke into a gallop when he was third on the home turn.
Goodtime Pe Rabbit went on to win by almost two lengths from $4.80 chance Majestic Dream, who had taken a narrow lead at the 250m mark. The win took Goodtime Pe Rabbit’s WA record to 20 starts for eight wins, six placings and $58,825 in prizemoney.
Angel In White loves to lead
A fighting fifth behind star mare Savvy Bromac in the group 2 WASBA Breeders Stakes last Friday week was a strong indication that noted frontrunner Angel In White would prove hard to beat from the favourable No. 2 barrier in the 2130m $22,000 Galactic Star Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
She raced in the breeze for the first 500m in the Breeders Stakes and then in the one-out, one-back position before being blocked for a clear passage until the final 75m, when she finished determinedly.
On Friday night Shannon Suvaljko made every post a winner, setting a brisk pace with Angel In White, the $3 second favourite whose obvious danger was Ima Rockabilly Rebel, who was aiming to extend his winning sequence to four, and was favourite at $2.45.
Ima Rockabilly Rebel raced in last position in the field of eight before Deni Roberts set the four-year-old alight from last at the 400m. The third quarter of the final mile had just been covered in 28sec. and Suvaljko dashed Angel In White away to a five-length lead with 250m to travel.
Ima Rockabilly Rebel sustained his powerful burst, but was unable to catch the pacemaker, who ran the final 400m in 28.4sec. and rated 1.56.6 after scoring by a neck.
This was Angel In White’s third win from 29 WA starts for Oakford trainer Shane Tognolini, who purchased the mare for $12,000 in 2019. Angel In White still races with two screws in her off hind pastern, the result of a fractured leg received in a race at Gloucester Park in November 2020.
Angel In White, now an eight-year-old, has earned $121,87from 12 wins and 14 placings from 69 starts.
Soho Broadway gets home by a head
Four-year-old Soho Broadway, the youngest and least experienced runner and only mare in the field, showed that she is set for a successful campaign when she fought on determinedly to snatch victory in the 2536m Ima Rocket Star Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The daughter of Bettors Delight, having her second start after a spell, was a $4.90 chance from barrier six and was driven assertively by Gary Hall jnr for owner-breeder Rob Watson and trainer Gary Hall snr.
After racing three wide early, Soho Broadway was left racing without cover while Major Mucha ($7.50) was setting the pace after the polemarker Tiza New Day ($4.40) broke into a gallop soon after the start and dropped back to the rear.
The Tiger Army, the $4 favourite, met with early interference and was sent forward from last at the 1400m to get to the breeze about 300m later, thus giving Soho Broadway the one-out, one-back trail.
Hall sent Soho Broadway forward, three wide, approaching the home turn and the mare fought on gamely to beat Major Mucha by a head with $4.20 chance Im Spiderman a half-head away in third place. Im Spiderman trailed Major Mucha all the way and did not get clear until late.
Hall jnr said that he was anxious to inject more pace in the race when Emily Suvaljko went forward with The Tiger Army. “I made her work a bit to ensure that the pace went on,” he said. “I sat on The Tiger Army for about 600m and when Soho Broadway got to a narrow lead (about 530m from home) I was keen to keep Im Spiderman in a pocket.”
This was Soho Broadway’s second win from five starts in WA, following her four wins from 21 starts in Victoria and placings in the South East Oaks and Queensland Oaks at Albion Park in July 2021. She has now earned $86,869 from six wins and ten placings from 28 starts.
Soho Broadway is out of the Tasmanian-bred Art Major mare Pixel Perfect, the dam of former outstanding pacer Soho Tribeca, who raced 59 times for 21 wins and 24 placings for stakes of $1,103,854.
Bushell keeps kicking goals
David Bushell was a feisty rover who loved kicking goals for East Fremantle in the 1980s, and now he is thoroughly enjoying kicking goals in the sport of harness racing.
He and his mate Kevin Smith, another former East Fremantle footballer, were in high spirits at Gloucester Park on Friday night as they celebrated another victory with smart New Zealand-bred five-year-old Glenledi Chief in the $23,750 Our Jimmy Johnstone Pace, a pacer they race in partnership with champion trainer Greg Bond’s Team Bond Pty Ltd.
“Glenledi Chief almost died last year when he was struck down by cancer,” said the 62-year-old Bushell. “But he’s going very well now.”
Bushell and Smith have enjoyed racing pacers since they hung up their footy boots, and they have fond memories of Holy Grail winning ten races before being sold to America five years ago. Among several pacers part-owned by Bushell was Mister Mona Lisa, who won at eight of his 21 starts when trained by Shannon Suvaljko 15-odd years ago. For good measure Bushell was a part-owner of rank outsider Talent Show, who won the Perth Cup at Ascot in January 2013.
Glenledi Chief was the $6.70 third favourite when he started from the outside barrier in the field of seven on Friday night, and Bushell and Smith were full of praise for star reinsman Ryan Warwick’s aggressive tactics.
Beat City, the $1.65 favourite, dashed to an early lead, and Warwick was not prepared to allow Gary Hall jar to have an easy time in front with Beat City. Glenledi Chief moved alongside Beat City in the first lap and applied pressure on the pacemaker. After an opening quarter of a slow 31.9sec. the tempo lifted and the next 400m sections went by in 29.2sec., 28sec. and 28.7sec.
Glenledi Chief had his head in front at the bell, and his advantage increased to a neck 520m from home. The protagonists then fought out a head-to-head battle, with Glenledi Chief gaining the verdict by a head.
This improved Glenledi Chief’s record to 37 starts for 13 wins, ten placings and $133,287 in prizemoney. Thirteen of Glenledi Chief’s 14 WA starts before Friday night’s race were in stands, but the gelding by American sire Well Said showed that he is equally proficient in mobiles.
Bond, who prepares Glenledi Chief with his wife Skye, explained that the pacer had been raced almost exclusively in stands because he was given a program in stands in preparation for the standing-start Easter Cup in April 2021.
Glenledi Chief finished third in the Cup, and he continued racing in stands because there were no suitable country mobile events for the horse. “Also, it helped us because we had several horses on the same mark, and with Glenledi Chief running in stands it generally prevented us having three horses in the same race,” said Bond.
Troublesome Middlepage triumphs
WA-bred five-year-old Middlepage has proved a considerable handful for trainer-reinsman Lindsay Harper, but he was almost on his best behaviour at Gloucester Park on Friday night when he won the 1730m Minstrel Pace in convincing style.
“He only had to pace to win,” said Harper after Middlepage, the $2.50 favourite, had sustained a spirited burst to beat the fast-finishing $23 chance American Bullitt by just over two lengths at a 1.56.5 rate.
“We have had vets, chiropractors and acupuncturists looking at him; we’ve done everything. He just comes out of his gear for no reason, mainly at the start.
“At his previous start, he paced and won, and tonight he paced and won again. He got a little bit rocky on the first corner tonight but remained in his gear. During the week I put new shoes with rubber cushions on his front feet to try to help. And I think that they helped.”
Middlepage has broken into a gallop at 15 of his 51 starts which have produced ten wins and 13 placings for earnings of $74,125.
“The only times he hasn’t finished in the first five have been when he has broken up,” said Harper. “When he was younger, he could fly out (at the start) and cross from nine, but in recent times I haven’t trusted him enough early to let him off the bridle. I didn’t bustle him out (from barrier two) tonight because that’s a recipe for disaster.
“He’s got speed and strength. He is no superstar, but he will win again.”
Patched up Newsletter shows her class
Prominent breeder and Hopeland trainer Mike Howie has never lost faith in his promising mare Newsletter, who has recovered from damaged tendons to both her forelegs.
“I have patched her up and her past five starts have been very good,” said Howie after Emily Suvaljko celebrated her first drive behind Newsletter by guiding her to an impressive victory in the 2130m Anne and Rob Gartrell Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“I was confident she would win, following her performance when ninth behind Savvy Bromac in the Breeders Stakes the previous week. She started from barrier nine and recorded the fastest final 800m (56.16sec.) and the fastest last 400m (28sec.) the race.
“Her form before that was excellent against some very good horses. At her two runs before the Breeders Stakes (in which she was a $126 outsider) she finished third behind Booraa (when hampered for room) and third behind Eldaytona.”
Newsletter was the $3.30 favourite from the No. 1 barrier on Friday night when she gave a bold frontrunning display to win by 4m from the $5.50 third fancy Miss Boudica, who sustained a strong three-wide burst from seventh at the bell.
Newsletter, raced by Howie’s wife Sharron, has earned $63,890 from six wins and 17 placings from 48 starts. She is by American sire Sportswriter and is the first foal out of the New Zealand-bred Live Or Die chestnut mare My Killarney Miss.
After six wins in New Zealand My Killarney Miss was purchased by trainer-reinsman Nathan Turvey, who gave her 22 starts in WA for two wins and six placings.
“Nathan was looking for a home for her after s
he finished racing, and he gave her to me as a broodmare,” said Howie.
My Killarney Miss’s second foal is Misstiano, who has earned $65,885 from eight wins and 11 placings from 33 starts. “And I sold a yearling out of Miss Killarney Miss for $22,000 at this year’s yearling sales,” said Howie, who races his pacers in the distinctive pale green and white colours.
Howie explained that he registered those colours because they were used by his grandfather Joe Coverley, an Irishman who was a prominent owner and trainer in WA more than 60 years ago when one of his best pacers was Wadderin Hill.
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