by Ken Casellas
Star New Zealand pacer Ohoka Punter has thrived during a 13-week preparation and is primed to resume racing on a winning note when he contests the $23,000 In The Gig Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The outstanding seven-year-old will start from the outside barrier (No. 9), but this should prove no problem to the brilliant stallion who has proved his class in grand circuit events and has amassed $964,016 in prizemoney from 24 wins and 20 placings from 52 starts.
“He’s going really good and should be too good for his rivals, with no disrespect to them,” said Clint Hall, elder son of champion trainer Gary Hall sen.
“He is quite forward in his work and I expect him to be far too good. He had a break, with six or seven weeks off, at the end of last year and he’s now been in work for between 12 to 14 weeks and is ready to go.”
Ohoka Punter entered the Serpentine stables of Hall sen. last November and was strongly fancied to win the Interdominion championship. Two days after winning a trial in dashing style at Byford he suffered an attack of colic which developed into a lung infection. This ruled him out of the Inters series.
Clint Hall said that the owners of Ohoka Punter decided to leave the horse in WA and for Hall sen. to prepare him for an assault on the Interdominion championship series in November and December this year.
Ohoka Punter has not had a start since he raced wide early and then set the pace and scored an easy victory over Young Modern and Flaming Flutter in the 2690m Maryborough Cup last October. Four starts before that Ohoka Punter beat Hectorjayjay and Ultimate Art in winning the group 1 $200,000 Blacks A Fake Pace at Brisbane’s Albion Park.
Gary Hall jun. will drive Ohoka Punter on Friday night and he is likely to give the horse time to settle down before making a decision to send him forward.
Ohoka Punter’s chief rivals appear sure to be stablemates American Boy and Crusader Banner and the Michael Brennan-trained Naughty Maravu.
American Boy, to be driven by Lauren Jones from barrier five on the front line, gave a superb display to win at a 1.53.9 rate over 1730m last Friday night. Crusader Banner, having his first start for nine months, finished strongly from eighth at the bell to be third. Micheal Ferguson will again be in the sulky, starting from the No. 3 barrier on the front line.
Brennan said that Naughty Maravu, to be driven by Shannon Suvaljko at his first outing after a four-month absence, would attempt to set the pace from the No. 1 barrier.
“This will be his first run in the Free-For-All grade, but he’s a very good fresh horse and we will try to take advantage of his ideal draw,” Brennan said. “He felt super when he won a trial at Byford on Sunday.”
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