11 April 2019 | Ken Casellas
Lightly-raced four-year-old Quick Stride has been shining on country tracks and he has bright prospects of extending his winning sequence to six when he contests the $18,000 Perth Plasterboard Centre Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night at his first appearance in the city.
Trained at Boyanup by Justin Prentice and driven by Gary Hall Jnr, Quick Stride has won twice at Narrogin and four times at Bunbury’s Donaldson Park track. He is versatile, possessing good gate speed and powerful finishing burst. At his latest outing he charged home, out wide, from eighth at the bell to win by four lengths from It Aint Royal over 2569m at Donaldson Park last Saturday week.
By American sire Live Or Die, Quick Stride is out of the unraced Northern Luck mare Lucky Stride, whose dam Jessica Clare had 118 starts for 11 wins, 39 placings and stakes of $81,285.
Hall drove Jessica Clare to two Gloucester Park victories when the mare was trained by Ross Olivieri. Jessica Clare is the dam of the Olivieri-trained Back To The Beach, who looks a strong winning chance in the Bridge Bar Pace on Friday night.
Toughest for Quick Stride to beat on Friday night is likely to be five-year-old Heez Manly, who will be having his third start after an absence 11 months. Heez Manly, to be driven by Stuart McDonald for champion trainer Gary Hall Snr, impressed last Friday night when he settled down in eighth position before dashing forward to race in the breeze with two laps to travel.
Heez Manly challenged the pacemaker Liam Neil strongly before taking a narrow lead 270m from home and fighting on grimly when a close second to Liberty Rose.
The Prentice-Hall Jnr combination will be strongly fancied to win the Christmas in July at the Beau Rivage Pace with Warfare, a New South Wales-bred six-year-old by Courage Under Fire who impressed at his West Australian debut at Gloucester Park on Tuesday of last week when he raced in the breeze before surging away to win convincingly from Vincenzo Peruggia at a 1.53.6 rate over 1730m.
Warfare has good gate speed and is perfectly drawn at barrier one in the 2536m event. A winner of one race (at Penrith) in New South Wales, Warfare has won 11 times in Victoria. He is the first foal out of the Ultimate Falcon mare Flamin Yomax, who earned $123,609 from 15 wins and 18 placings from 61 starts.
One of Warfare’s most serious rivals could well be Warriors Code, who caught the eye at Gloucester Park on Tuesday evening when he charged home from last at the bell to be second to Mistersandman over 2130m.
Friday night’s program should open with a spirited tussle between polemaker The Art Form and Im Soxy, who will start from the No. 5 barrier.
Im Soxy, to be handled by Ryan Warwick for Bunbury trainer Brian Clemens, revealed excellent fighting qualities last Friday night when he worked hard in the breeze before taking the lead 100m from the post and winning by a head from the pacemaker Mighty Flying Deal.
Warwick was full of praise, saying: “He did it really easily. He’s getting better and better and is not finished with yet.”
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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