13 December 2018 | Ken Casellas
Former outstanding young pacer Kiwi Legend has recovered from a serious tendon injury and will resume racing after an absence of 638 days when he contests the Retravision Your Air Conditioning Specialist Free-For-All over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Now a seven-year-old, Kiwi Legend has responded to the diligent and patient care of Bunbury trainer Stephen Reed. Constant wading in the Leschenaultia estuary has contributed to the gelding’s successful rehabilitation.
Kiwi Legend has not raced since he set the pace and won easily from Ideal Tyson and Risk in the Four and Five-Year-Old Championship at Gloucester Park in March 2017. That took his record to 31 starts for 12 wins, nine seconds and two thirds for $191,230 in stakes. He finished second to Beaudiene Boaz in the Golden Nugget in December 2015 and led and won the Lord Mayor’s Cup in January 2017.
Kiwi Legend warmed up for his return to racing with a smart win in a three-horse 2116m standing-start trial at Pinjarra five Sundays ago. After a leisurely opening quarter of the final mile in 32.3sec., Kiwi Legend took the lead after 900m and dashed over the final three quarters in 28.6sec., 28.8sec. and 28.6sec. He was not extended in defeating ten-year-old Batali by five lengths at a 2.1.9 rate.
Mark Reed will drive Kiwi Legend, who will start from the No. 4 barrier in the field of nine. The gelding is sure to derive considerable benefit from his first-up run. Reed is the regular driver of talented mare Maczaffair, who is trained by his father Mike and will start from barrier six.
Mark Reed has enjoyed a great association with Maczaffair, having driven her 14 times for seven wins, one second, two thirds, two fourths and two unplaced runs. Maczaffair, an all-the-way winner over Gotta Go Gabbana and Tricky Styx two starts ago, will be handled by Dylan Egerton-Green.
Champion reinsman Gary Hall Jnr has given punters a strong lead by choosing to drive the Justin Prentice-trained Rocknroll Lincoln in preference to the well-performed Runrunjimmydunn, who is trained by Gary Hall Snr.
Hall Jnr drove Runrunjimmydunn when the five-year-old bounced back to strong form last Friday night when he worked hard without cover before hitting the front 100m from the post and dead-heating for first with Vultan Tin. Clint Hall will drive Runrunjimmydunn this week.
Rocknroll Lincoln will be hard to beat from the No. 2 barrier after his strong finishing effort to win the 2569m Bunbury Cup from Vampiro and Im Soxy last Saturday week. One of his chief rivals appears to be the polemarker Talktomeurmattjesty, who looks the likely pacemaker from the coveted No. 1 barrier.
Talktomeurmattjesty, trained in Busselton by Barry Howlett, showed a welcome return to form last Friday night when he took the lead after 320m, set a solid pace and covered the final quarters in 27.7sec. and 28.7sec. and finished a close second to Im Soxy. Vultan Tin, trained at Coolup by Phil Costello, should also be prominent after he finished strongly from the rear to dead-heat with Runrunjimmydunn last week.
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