08 July 2015
by Ken Casellas
Champion trainer Gary Hall sen. will have seven runners in the field of 12 to contest the $22,500 Sky Racing Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night and he has laid down the gauntlet to equine millionaire and WA’s best standardbred David Hercules, who has drawn favourably at No. 2 on the front line.
Hall has engaged Kim Prentice to drive the polemarker Soho Highroller and he will instruct him to make full use of the six-year-old’s frontrunning ability.
Last Friday night Hall’s brilliant four-year-old Machtu started at 4/1 and caused a minor upset when he finished fast to dash to the front in the final 90m and beat David Hercules, the 2/1 on favourite, by a head in the 2536m Winter Cup.
David Hercules, the winner of 39 races and $1,258,569 in prizemoney, is likely to be an odds-on chance again this week. But Hall is not about to concede defeat.
However, he admitted that David Hercules would take a power of beating. “He’s going to be very hard to beat from barrier two; there’s no doubt about it and dropping back to 2130m this week should be in his favour,” he said.
“Soho Highroller is a proven frontrunner and if we let David Hercules go to the front we can’t beat him. I’m not out there to run second; I’m out there to win.”
Hall recalled how Soho Highroller set a brisk pace from barrier one over 2130m and finished a fighting second to stablemate My Hard Copy at Gloucester Park last December. “My Hard Copy took all his time to get over Soho Highroller in that race and he rated 1.54.1,” he said. “A repetition of that run would give Soho Highroller a very good chance. He’s a really good frontrunner.”
Soho Highroller has not led in several recent starts when he has drawn out wide or started off the back line. But his form is good. He is a last-start winner, winning the 2100m Past Presidents Cup at Bunbury last Friday week when he started from the back line, settled in ninth position and sustained a strong three-wide burst from sixth at the bell to take the lead 350m from home and hold on to defeat the fast-finishing Our Blackbird.
While Hall is upbeat about Soho Highroller’s prospects this week, he also is expecting strong performances from Machtu and My Hard Copy.
Machtu impressed with his win in the Winter Cup last week when he enjoyed the one-out, one-back trail, before outsprinting David Hercules in the home straight after that pacer had worked hard outside the pacemaker Libertybelle Midfrew before gaining the upper hand 500m from the post. He will start from barrier two on the back line, immediately behind David Hercules.
Gary Hall jun. will drive Machtu and his elder brother Clint will drive WA Pacing Cup winner My Hard Copy, who thundered home with a withering burst from last at the bell to win from stablemate Crusader Banner at a 1.55.5 rate over 1609m at Bunbury three Fridays ago when making his first appearance for five months.
My Hard Copy will start from the No. 5 barrier on the front line and Clint Hall will again be relying on the New Zealand-bred five-year-old’s devastating finishing sprint. Micheal Ferguson will drive Crusader Banner from barrier six on the front line, Justin Prentice has been engaged for Northview Punter (inside of the back line) and Lauren Jones will be in the sulky behind Hokonui Ben from the outside of the back line. Hall sen. has yet to name a driver for Soho Jackman (No. 3 on the front line).
Crusader Banner was a brilliant winner over stablemates Soho Lennon and Vapour, rating 1.54.7 over 2130m at Gloucester Park last Friday night when he began with great speed from the outside (No. 9) of the front line to set the pace. He sped over the lead time in a remarkable 34.7sec., which equates to running a 400m section in 26.3sec.
Hokonui Ben and Northview Punter each will be resuming after a spell. Hall sen. that both pacers were working in splendid style. “Northview Punter won a standing-start trial at Byford on Sunday by about 40 metres and is definitely a place chance,” he said. “Hokonui Ben has been trialling quite well after spell and seems to be approaching something like his best form. But starting from barrier 12 is not going to help him.”
Hall senior’s seventh runner is Soho Jackman, whose recent form is sound, but appears to be facing a stern test from No. 3 on the front line.
Byford trainer David Thompson certainly was far from being disappointed when David Hercules finished a head second to Machtu last Friday night. The evergreen eight-year-old was having his first start for just over a month and was a sitting shot for Machtu after racing without cover.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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