11 March 2021 | Ken Casellas
Promising, lightly-raced six-year-old Matai Geordie finished eleventh, 45 lengths behind the winner Vultan Tin in the Pinjarra Cup on Monday of last week, but champion reinsman Gary Hall Jnr has advised punters not to lose faith in the New Zealand-bred gelding.
Matai Geordie will start from barrier five in the 2130m All Your Civil And Construction Supply Needs Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night and Hall is confident he will bounce back to winning form.
He raced on the pegs in fifth position for most of the way in the 2692m Pinjarra Cup before striking trouble and breaking into a bad gallop approaching the home turn.
“I went for a run which really wasn’t there, and he got checked and broke,” Hall explained. “He was travelling strongly, and I would say that he would have finished second or third had it not been for that incident.
“I don’t think there is much need to get involved early on Friday night. However, I thought that the horses drawn on his inside would be happy to sit on him. He’ll get out of the gate good, if you ask him, or he can sit up and kick.”
Before his Pinjarra Cup problems, Matai Geordie had notched three runaway victories at Gloucester Park. They were against moderate opposition, but his overall times and sectionals were outstanding.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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