19 October 2017 | Ken Casellas
Ace trainer-reinsman Kim Prentice has a high opinion of his lightly-raced six-year-old The Odd Lover and he is confident the stallion will take another step towards qualifying for a start in the rich TABtouch Inter Dominion championship series by winning the Soho Standardbreds Handicap over 2503m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The Odd Lover has recovered fully from serious suspensory ligament damage which kept him on the sidelines for 14 months and should notch his second win from his second start on his comeback trail by proving too talented for his rivals in Friday night’s stand in which he will start off the 20m mark.
He resumed in style last Friday week when he galloped out off 10m before dashing forward and taking the lead after a lap. He relished his pacemaking role and sprinted brilliantly over the final quarters in 28.1sec. and 27.9sec. to win by more than five lengths from Assassinator.
“He was also entered for the Mount Eden Sprint, but I thought he needed one more run in lesser company before he goes and tackles the better class horses to see if he’s worth a spot in the Inters,” Prentice said.
“He missed a little bit (at the start) at his first-up run, which he doesn’t normally do. So, he’ll be getting a fair bit of practice in the next couple of days. His first-up run sharpened him up and he’s really come to the party. I’m very happy with him.”
The Odd Lover should be able to beat last-start winners Three Blind Mice, Fifth Edition and Always Arjay as well as Assassinator and Tommy Be Good, whose recent efforts have been very good.
Assassinator, a recent edition to the Ross Olivieri stable, raced wide early and then without cover when a well-beaten last-start second to The Odd Lover. He will be driven by Chris Voak.
Lewis, who last drove Assassinator 31 starts ago for a nose victory in a stand at Gloucester Park in August 2016, will be in the sulky behind the Barry Howlett-trained Three Blind Mice, who impressed first-up with a strong all-the-way win in a 2100m mobile event at Bunbury last Saturday week.
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