10 July 2023 | Ken Casellas
Busy George’s moment in the sun
Michael George is a full-time worker in the maintenance section of Alcoa’s Wagerup alumina refinery, who enjoys his involvement in harness racing as a trainer in Coolup.
And on a wintry Friday night he completed his first training double at Gloucester Park when Gary Hall jnr drove Faster Than Dad to a thrilling victory in the $30,000 GPHR Westbred Winter Classic for four and five-year-olds.
This followed his success earlier in the program with Kimble — the second of Hall’s six winners on the eleven-event program.
Kimble and Faster Than Dad provided the 34-year-old George with his first double for nine and a half years — since he was successful with Cup Of Life and Meet George Jetson at Kalgoorlie on December 6, 2013.
George was the leading trainer with eleven winners and several placegetters at that annual Kalgoorlie carnival, and then he followed that success by being the leading driver at the annual Busselton carnival.
Faster Than Dad was the $1.50 favourite from the No. 1 barrier on Friday night when Hall got the Alta Christiano gelding away swiftly before coasting through the lead time in 38.5sec. and the opening quarter in 30.3sec.
But Faster Than Dad began to pull to pull in front and he dashed over the next two 400m sections in 28.8sec. and 28.3sec., with Hillview Bondi ($19) in the breeze and the $4.60 second fancy trailing the pacemaker.
Finally, Dylan Egerton-Green was able to get Paul Edward into the clear 105m from the post, and the four-year-old flew home to finish second, a nose behind the five-year-old Faster Than Dad.
The final 400m was covered in a modest 29.6sec. — mainly due to Hall being intent on keeping Paul Edward locked up in a pocket.
“I was in two minds whether to cut the ribbons and go for home,” said Hall. “But I knew that Paul Edward was on my back and would ping me. However, this also hindered me because half way around the home bend Faster Than Dad was like a car with the keys turned off and was threatening to switch off.
“Sometimes when a horse switches off it’s a bit hard to get him going again. I was lucky that he picked up the bit again.”
Faster Than Dad is the third foal out of the Bettors Delight mare Slick Bird, who finished third behind Artemis Belle in the 2011 WA Oaks and was retired with a record of 34 starts for ten wins, nine placings and stakes of $89,999.
Faster Than Dad now has earned $111,816 from 12 wins and nine placings from 39 starts. His full-brother While They Pray (trained by George) has had 39 starts for 16 wins and 12 placings, with his main success being in the group 3 Kerry Clarke Four and Five-Year-Old Classic in July 2020 and the Manea Classic in Bunbury five months earlier.
Slick Bird has also produced Slick Artist, the winner of the group 3 Daintys Daughter Classic for three-year-old fillies in February 2018. She raced 143 times for 29 wins, 50 placings for stakes of $370,303. She won at six of her 18 WA starts before winning another 23 times in the United States.
Acharne Girl (19 starts for six wins, five placings and $92,797) is a full-sister to Faster Than Dad.
Bromwich makes it six for Hall
Talented square gaiter Bromwich completed another outstanding evening for champion reinsman Gary Hall jnr when he romped to an effortless win in the 2503m Follow @Gloucesterpark On Twitter Trot at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The five-year-old Majestic Son gelding was the $1.60 favourite who set the pace and strolled to victory by one and a half lengths from the $2.60 second fancy Thats Not My Gait, with $23 chance Evas Image eight lengths farther back in third place.
This gave Hall his sixth winner on the eleven-event program, and it gave master trainer Gary Hall snr his second winner for the night, following Finvarra’s win earlier in the night.
“Doing thigs right, was all that he had to do,” said Hall jnr. “Bromwich should be unbeaten at his five WA starts. He led and galloped over the final 150 metres at his previous start (when second to Luvaflair).”
Bromwich has earned $36,207 from his four wins and a second from his five WA starts, boosting his career record to 50 starts for ten wins and 14 placings for stakes of $105,237.
Skylord reigns supreme
Outstanding colt Skylord enhanced his reputation as one of the best three-year-olds in the State when he toyed with his rivals and scored a runaway win in the $30,000 GPHR Westsired Pace for colts and geldings at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The $1.04 favourite began from barrier six and raced three wide for the first 200m before getting to the front 300m later and coasting in front until he whizzed over the final 400m in 27.7sec. on a rain-affected track. He beat $91 outsider Flashing Ark by four lengths.
He rated 1.58.5 over the 2130m trip and improved his record to 13 starts for seven wins, five placings and $112,401 in prizemoney.
“I didn’t come out full steam,” said trainer-driver Jocelyn Young. “I was waiting for the others to sort themselves out. But that was taking too long, so I went forward to lead. I was really pleased with him, and he ran a good time on a wet track.”
Skylord’s win completed a driving double for Young, who was successful earlier in the night with speedy mare Steno. This was Young’s first double at a Friday night meeting since she was successful with Bill Haley and Im Not Eyre on November 1, 2019.
Hall’s 50/1 quadrella
Gary Hall junior’s legion of fans cashed in at Gloucester Park on Friday night when the champion reinsman drove the first four winners on the program — with the quadrella returning a dividend of $50.70.
His fourth consecutive winner was the $1.10 favourite Finvarra, who began from the No.1 barrier and led throughout before holding on to beat his stablemate and $8 second fancy Prince Of Pleasure by a half-head.
This followed victories with Watching Our Coin ($4.60), Kimble ($5.60) and The Mustang ($1.10).
Finvarra’s victory followed two seconds behind Prince Of Pleasure and a last-start second to Himself, and it boosted his record to 30 starts for 13 wins, 12 placings and $261,201 in prizemoney. He sprinted strongly over the final 400m sections in 28.5sec. and 27.3sec. and rated 1.56.9 over 2130m.
“Finvarra was good, and I never felt he was in danger of being beaten, although it was a bit close for comfort. He was hanging a bit worse than normal.”
Finvarra is likely to run in feature events in the coming weeks, including the $50,000 Winter Cup on July 28, before having a spell and then being prepared for the $450,000 WA Pacing Cup over 2536m on November 10.
Three in a row for Fly To Fame
Tiny filly Fly To Fame maintained her splendid form and brought up a hat-trick of wins when she set the pace from barrier one and coasted to victory in the $30,000 GPHR Westsired Pace for three-year-old fillies at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
She was the $1.20 favourite from barrier one, and Chris Lewis got her away swiftly before she ambled through the lead time in a very slow 41.2sec. and then dawdled through the first two quarters in 33sec. and 30.8sec.
Fly To Fame then increased the tempo with final 400m sections of 28.9sec. and 28.5sec. as she won easily from Jackie Daniels ($8) and Flying To Win ($7.50), rating a modest 2.2.7 over 2130m.
Fly To Fame, trained by Katja Warwick, has now earned $107,622 from seven wins and 12 placings from 30 starts, and she is developing into a serious candidate for the $150,000 WA Oaks over 2536m on October 13.
Watching Our Coin’s purple patch
Five-year-old Watching Our Coin has blossomed into a smart pacer after arriving in Australia last November with a New Zealand record of one win from 28 starts.
He was a $4.60 chance at Gloucester Park on Friday night when he gave a typical tough performance to win the 1730m Vale Gordon Pike Pace, rating 1.55.5 over the 1730m journey.
Watching Our Coin, trained by Michael Young, has been quite a revelation this year, with his nine West Australian starts producing six wins and three placings, taking his career record to 37 starts for seven wins, 11 placings and $75,203 in stakes.
This wonderful form comes after he had managed a solitary New Zealand win when he was an $18.60 chance in a 2600m standing-start event at Addington in February 2022. He raced three back on the pegs before finishing solidly to record a 2.3.6 rate.
Gary Hall jnr had to drive Watching Our Coin hard to achieve victory on Friday night. He applied the whip vigorously to get the gelding to muster early pace from the No. 5 barrier. Watching Our Coin then moved to the breeze, with the polemarker and $3 second fancy Cheer The Major setting a solid pace.
Watching Our Coin was hard driven in the final lap when he got to the front on the home turn and won by a half-neck from Cheer The Major, with the $2.30 favourite Peter Petrify fighting on gamely to be a head away in third place after enjoying a perfect passage in the one-out, one-back position. The final 400m was covered in a slick 27.6sec.
“He is big and lazy but has a big diesel engine,” said Young. “He just keeps going and doesn’t stop.”
Hall praised Watching Our Coin for his competitive spirit, saying: “He likes to be told to do it. On the line he was doing it easy. There’s plenty of bottom to him.”
The Mustang excels in front
Victorian-bred six-year-old The Mustang gave a typical solid frontrunning performance to win the 1730m Steelos Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
All of his six wins from 19 appearances in WA have been when he has set the pace. But his trainer Michael Young firmly believes the Changeover gelding will reveal his versatility in stronger company.
“He is one of the fastest beginners in the State,” said Young. “However, he probably will be a better horse when driven with a sit in stronger company. He never wins by far, but Junior (Gary Hall jnr) said he was going easy on the line tonight.”
The Mustang was a hot $1.10 favourite from the No. 1 barrier when he led and ran a quick first 400m of the final mile in 28.9sec. before coasting through the next section in 31.2sec. and then sprinting over the final quarters in 28.9sec. and 28.1sec. and beating his stablemate and $71 chance Moonlite Drive by just under a length, rating 1.56.
The Mustang, who ended a losing sequence of eight, has earned $254,604 from 21 wins and 34 placings from 84 starts. His 19 WA runs have produced six wins and seven placings.
Peligroso is back on song
Five-year-old WA-bred gelding Peligroso has resumed after a five-month absence in fine form, with two easy all-the-way wins for Baskerville trainer Ryan Bell and young reinsman Kyle Symington.
But it certainly hasn’t been all plain sailing with Peligroso, according to Bell, who said the gelding had caused him many headaches early in his career.
“I had a lot of trouble with him as a young horse,” said Bell. “He got really crook just before the Sales races, and he has never been the same since. It was something internal, and it is only now that we have been happy with him — three years later.”
Peligroso was the $1.60 favourite from the No. 1 barrier in the 1730m Allwood Stud Farm Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night, and Symington drove him with great confidence to an all-the-way victory by two lengths over $18 chance Cloud Nine, who ran home strongly from ninth at the bell.
Peligroso, who rated 1.56.3, has had 50 starts for nine wins and 11 placings for earnings of $64,318. He is by American sire Captaintreacherous, and is out of Courage Under Fire, who raced 90 times for 12 wins, 25 placings and $102,378 in stakes.
He is a half-brother to the ill-fated Valedictorian, who died late last year after racing ten times last year as a two-year-old for five wins and two placings for earnings of $132,647. He won the group 1 Sales Classic and the group 2 Gold Bullion final and finished second to Never Ending in the Pearl Classic.
“Peligroso’s record over a mile is not too good, but most of those runs were from wide barriers or when he was outclassed,” said Bell. “This was only the third or fourth time in his career that he was able to jump on the bunny and paint the rail — and go on and win.”
Change of routine helps Kimble
Victorian-bred five-year-old Kimble showed the benefit of a change of training methods when he revealed sparkling gate speed and scored a most impressive all-the-way win in the 2130m Beau Rivage Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
He was having his first start for Coolup trainer Michael George, who took over the preparation of the gelding from Mundijong trainer Michel Young about six weeks ago.
Young, a part-owner of Kimble, recommended a stable change because he was concerned that his traditional training methods of working his pacers in heavy sand was not suitable for Kimble, and that George’s different training routines would revitalise the gelding.
“Kimble is a better horse than what he was performing for me,” said Young. “He didn’t handle the sand work very well. He was more of a speed horse over east, and he lost a lot of speed for me.”
“A change of routine has helped Kimble,” said George. “I do a lot of hoppled heat work with him on the Pinjarra track, and I was happy to see Kimble’s gate speed back tonight. I was impressed with the way he went. He has ticked every box and every challenge I have given him.”
Kimble, a $5.60 chance, was first out from barrier No. 8 and charged straight to the front from the polemarker and $1.55 favourite Mea Culpa. Gary Hall jnr then rated Kimble perfectly with opening quarters of 31.3sec. and 30.4sec. followed by 400m sections of 29.3sec. and 28.2sec. He won easily from $14 chance Master Publisher, who raced wide early and then in the breeze.
Kimble showed considerable early promise, and he was an easy winner of the group 1 Vicbred Super Series final for two-year-old colts and geldings at Melton in December 2020. He now boasts a record of 53 starts for 12 wins and 17 placings for earnings of $214,458.
He is by American sire Western Terror and is the first foal out of the Bettors Delight mare Im Wrongly Accused, who raced 14 times for three wins, six placings and $36,917.
San Remo Beach set for classics
San Remo Beach, a smart winner of the Westside Auto Wholesale Pace for two-year-old fillies at Gloucester Park on Friday night, will be set for the $100,000 Diamond Classic on August 18 and the $225,000 Westbred Classic on September 15.
“That’s the aim for her and her stablemate Maddy Lou,” said Mike Howie, who bred and owns both fillies who are prepared by Capel trainer-reinsman Aiden de Campo.
de Campo drove Maddy Lou ($3.30) in Friday night’s 2130m event in which she finished seventh in the field of eight in which she started from the outside barrier and raced at the rear before starting a three-wide move approaching the bell.
Dylan Egerton-Green was in the sulky behind San Remo Beach, an $8.10 chance from barrier six.
“The plan was to race San Remo Beach with a sit,” said Egerton-Green. “But she got a bit keen, so we rolled forward (to race in the breeze while the $2.20 favourite Atlantic Gem was setting the pace). And she out-toughed her rivals.”
San Remo got to the front about 70m from the finish and beat Atlantic Gem by a half-length, with that filly ruining her chances by hanging out over the final 600m.
“Both San Remo Beach and Maddy Lou are nice big fillies,” said Howie. “They are the only two I didn’t send to the yearling sales last year. I had twelve foals that year and sold the other ten at the sales.
“I kept San Remo Beach and Maddy Lou because they are out of good broodmares, and I wanted to keep them for breeding after they finish racing.”
San Remo Beach is by American stallion Downbytheseaside, who amassed $2,283,068 from 22 wins and ten placings from 35 starts.
“Downbytheseaside is doing a great job in America where he is the leading sire of two and three-year-olds over there,” said Howie.
San Remo Beach has had six starts for two wins and two placings for stakes of $21,865. She is the fourth foal out of Artistic Copper, who won the group 1 Sales Classic for two-year-old fillies in April 2013 and the Sales Classic for three-year-olds in February 2014 when she was trained by de Campo’s father Andrew.
Artistic Copper was retired after racing 31 times for seven wins, three placings and $100,014. Her first three foals have all been very good performers, with Some Copper Beach winning the Gold Bracelet in July 2019 and earning $100,020 from nine wins and six placings from 39 starts; The Good Life racing 32 times for nine wins, nine placings and $79,133, and Artistic Scribe having 30 starts for four wins and nine placings for stakes of $36,423.
Golden Nugget plans for Steno
Ravenswood trainer Cameron Ross outlined ambitious plans for speedy four-year-old mare Steno after her impressive victory in the $22,000 Bridge Bar Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“Not only will I be setting Steno for the feature events for mares in the summer, but I’ll be aiming her for the Golden Nugget, a race I’m confident she will be a worthy candidate,” said Ross.
Ross is basing much of his optimism on the performance of his five-year-old The Amber Hare, who was the only mare to run in the Golden Nugget last December when she raced in seventh position before surging to the front 600m from home and finishing fifth behind Himself.
The $200,000 Golden Nugget will be run over 2536m on December 15 and is certain to attract a field of outstanding four-year-olds.
Steno was a $6.10 chance from out wide at barrier seven in Friday night’s event, with Jocelyn Young getting the mare away to a flying start and bursting straight to the front.
After a lead time of 36.6sec. and an opening quarter of 30.2sec. Steno dashed over the next three 400m sections in 28.1sec.,29sec. and 28.9sec. and won by more than a length from the $2.40 favourite American Arma, who trailed the pacemaker all the way. Last-start winner Dontbesillychilli ($10) finished third after racing three back on the pegs.
The New South Wales-bred Steno, who is by outstanding American sire Sweet Lou, has won at two of her five starts in Western Australia, taking her career record to 26 starts for 12 wins, nine placings and $216,079 in prizemoney.
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