15 March 2018 | Ken Casellas
It promises to be just a stroll in the park for millionaire superstar Chicago Bull when he contests the $50,000 Direct Trades Supply Four And Five-Year-Old Championship at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
This will be five-year-old Chicago Bull’s final appearance in a race for several months before champion trainer Gary Hall sen. prepares him for feature events next spring and summer, including the Interdominion championship series in Melbourne.
Star reinsman Gary Hall jun. will have plenty of options when Chicago Bull lines up behind the mobile in barrier four on Friday night. The is a strong possibility that four-year-old Maxentius, a speedy frontrunner, will be given the task of leading by ace reinsman Colin Brown. In that case, Hall could be content to rate Chicago Bull in the breeze before applying pressure in the final circuit.
Hall sen. summed up his son’s possible tactics by saying: “Chicago Bull will be in front or racing in the breeze. I would say he will win, with stablemate Runrunjimmydunn finishing second. Runrunjimmydunn (Clint Hall) is getting better all the time.
“Chicago Bull will be spelled for six weeks and then brought back into work. He will probably resume racing in early September.”
Hall sen. has five of the eight runners in Friday night’s event — Chicago Bull, Runrunjimmydunn, Ima Rocknroll Legend, Zach Maguire and Campora.
Runrunjimmydunn will start from barrier three and is capable of a bold showing. He was most impressive in a 2130m event last Friday night when he started from the outside barrier (No. 8) and raced three wide in the early stages before applying pressure to the pacemaker Vampiro. He fought on with tremendous determination and finished a nose behind Vampiro at a 1.55.7 rate, with final quarters in 27.1sec. and 28.9sec.
Runrunjimmydunn’s past nine starts have produced five wins and four seconds and he is certain to improve considerably on his record of 30 starts for 12 wins and nine placings for earnings of $123,098.
The Ross Olivieri-trained mare Sheer Rocknroll has excellent place prospects. She will be driven by Chris Lewis from the No. 6 barrier.
“She went terrific last Friday (when third behind Madame Meilland and Better B Chevron in the Empress Stakes) and I was very impressed with her,” Lewis said.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
