15 February 2018 | Ken Casellas
Astute Henley Brook trainer Mike Reed is bubbling with confidence that Victorian-bred colt Bechers Brook will triumph in the $40,000 Caduceus Club Classic at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
A victory would help to ease the anguish suffered by Reed when his filly Maczaffair (owned by Albert Walmsley) unwound a powerful burst to finish second in the 2017 Caduceus Club Classic, a nose behind Rock Diamonds.
Walmsley, who owns Bechers Brook, a colt by Somebeachsomewhere, shares Reed’s optimism and is also upbeat about the prospects of his other runner, the Reed-trained Golden State.
Bechers Brook, a winner at four of his seven starts, will begin from the No. 4 barrier on the front line in the 2130m classic and the New Zealand-bred colt Golden State will start from barrier five. Golden State impressed with the ease of his first-up victory over 2100m at Bunbury’s Donaldson Park last Saturday night when he led and sped over the final quarters in 28.7sec. and 27.9sec.
Bechers Brook warmed up for this week’s assignment by running home determinedly from sixth at the bell to be a close second to Lady De La Renta over 2130m last Friday week.
“I lean towards Bechers Brook, mainly because he has drawn inside of Golden State,” said Reed. “Bechers Brook’s latest run, on paper, was a bit disappointing. I was away and (reinsman) Shannon Suvaljko said that the colt had got away from us a bit.
“So, I have up-tempoed his work and at Gloucester Park last Saturday morning it was the best he has ever worked. I drove him in a workout with two other horses and whoever beats him home on Friday night will win the race. But I think that he can find the top from barrier four and if he leads I think he will be winning. Shannon had the choice of drives and he picked Bechers Brook. Chris Lewis will handle Golden State.
“I put Dolly Vardons on him for the workout and he worked the place down when he travelled well on the bit. Golden State is a good horse, too. But it is a big ask for him against the best ones at his second start after a spell.”
Suvaljko, who leads the Statewide drivers’ premiership with 84 winners, has won the Caduceus Club Classic with Sir Mick Sloy (2005) and Jumbo Operator (2009). Lewis has won the event five times, scoring with Almagest (1990), Flashing Star (1993), Classy Claude (1996), Saab (1998) and Johnny Disco (2016).
Bechers Brook is bred to be a star. He is a full-brother to Our Waikiki Beach, who has earned $912,294 from 23 wins and seven placings from 35 starts. He won five Group 1 feature events as a three-year-old, including the New South Wales Derby at Menangle. Twelve months ago, he finished second to Lazarus in the Chariots of Fire at Menangle.
Walmsley said he named Bechers Brook after the notorious obstacle at Aintree, near Liverpool, where the horses had to jump this fearsome hazard twice during the running of the annual Grand National Steeplechase.
Walmsley, an Englishman who migrated to Australia when he was 19, said that horses had to be brave and extremely gallant to leap over Becher’s Brook. “It’s an obstacle which is hard to get over,” he said. “And I would like to think that Bechers Brook will be hard to get over in his races.”
Leading trainer Gary Hall Snr and star reinsman Gary Hall Jnr each has won the Caduceus Club Classic six times and they are hoping for a slice of luck with the promising but inexperienced Speed Man, who has fared badly in the random draw and will start from the outside of the back line.
“I think he will go well,” said Hall Snr “Barrier 12 is a bit of a handicap, but he is a horse I have a lot of time for.
Speed Man was a 9/4 on favourite at Gloucester Park last Friday week when he set the pace from barrier four before breaking into a gallop 250m from home and then recovering to finish third behind Lady De La Renta and Bechers Brook.
“He was going from just cruising around to up-tempo when challenges came at him pretty quickly,” Hall said. “He’s inexperienced and not used to that and he’s also not really that well co-ordinated.”
With Hall Jnr opting to drive Speed Man, Byford trainer Katja Warwick has engaged Aiden de Campo to handle Rock Me Over, a winner of three races as a two-year-old and producing solid efforts at his two runs after a spell for thirds at Northam and Pinjarra.
“He is a versatile colt, but he will need the right trip on Friday night,” Warwick said.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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