Talented young reinsman Stuart McDonald, cooling his heels in recent weeks, has completed a 19-day term of suspension and is looking forward to returning to action with six drives on the ten-event program at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
He has labelled the Ross Olivieri-trained Ona Happy Note as his best drive.
McDonald drove the experienced New Zealand-bred seven-year-old to a smart victory at his first appearance in Western Australia when the gelding rated 1.56.5 to defeat Plati and Zacharia over 1730m last Friday fortnight.
“Ona Happy Note is not well drawn at barrier six on Friday night, but with the right run he can certainly be right in the race,” McDonald said.
“From barrier six he’ll probably take a sit back in the field. Soho Wonder looks the leader from the inside barrier and there are a few horses likely to make a mid-race move which should enable us to get a good cart into the race.
“When he draws closer to the pegs he can certainly lead them up. Since his win he’s done very well and has got better.”
At his first WA appearance Ona Happy Note started from the back line and settled at the rear before McDonald sent him forward with a three-wide burst approaching the bell. Ona Happy Note took the lead 400m from home and won by just under a length from Plati, who followed him throughout the race.
Ona Happy Note is one of several runners with sound prospects in Friday night’s race. The Bob Mellsop-trained Soho Wonder (Lauren Jones) was a smart all-the-way winner last Friday night when Plati impressed in surging home from 11th at the bell to win over 2536m 30 minutes later.
Olivieri has two other handy performers engaged in Jambiani and Bonny Under Fire and Gary Hall sen. has undeniable claims with the in-form Tact Major (eight wins from 17 starts) and Delightful Jade, an M4-class performer with a distinct edge in class over her rivals. But she has to overcome the disadvantage of starting out wide at barrier nine on the front line.
Apart from Ona Happy Note, McDonald will drive Fire of Rock, Say It Now, My Mate Stride, Our Blackbird and Bashful Compton.
He is not particularly confident about the prospects of 12-year-old Fire of Rock, who will be at long odds from the wide draw at No. 8 in the first event on the program. Fire of Rock has won once from his past 99 starts and currently has a losing sequence of 66.
However, McDonald fancies the chances of nine-year-old Bashful Compton, who will start from the inside barrier on the front line in the Book Your Conference and Seminars at Gloucester Park Handicap, a 2503m stand.
Bashful Compton, trained in Collie by David Hunter, is a proven frontrunner and a standing-start expert, whose 14 wins have all been in stands. His most recent 34 starts have been in stands.
“Bashful Compton goes pretty good from barrier one and while there’s a few good ones outside of him, I reckon he will give them something to chase. The plan will be to lead.”
The favourite is sure to be Char Do Neigh, a comparatively lightly-raced seven-year-old in the stables of Greg and Skye Bond whose seven starts in this campaign have produced five wins, a second and a seventh placing.
Char Do Neigh, to start from barrier four on the front line with Ryan Warwick in the sulky, worked hard without cover for much of the way before winning from the fast-finishing bettors Ace in a 2130m mobile event last Friday night.
His past five outings have been in mobiles, but he has a good record in stands, having won over 2400m in New Zealand last February and from 20m at Pinjarra in May and at Narrogin in July, when he beat Kiwi Legend.
McDonald is also looking forward keenly to representing Western Australia in the Australasian Young Drivers series during the TABtouch interdominion championship series in November and December. He won the Garrard’s Young Drivers series in WA last season and represented WA in the New South Wales series.
He also won an international drivers’ series, which featured American ace Tim Tetrick last summer.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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