Suspicious Life Set to Lead

Lightly-raced gelding Suspicious Life is poised for a powerful first-up performance in the 2536m Retravision As Local As You Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

He will start from the No. 4 barrier on the front line and Banjup trainer-reinsman Dylan Egerton-Green is planning to set the pace at his first outing for 16 weeks.

Suspicious Life possess sparkling gate speed and his seven wins from 25 starts have all come when he has set the pace.

“He should go well, first-up,” said Egerton-Green. “He’s got plenty of gate speed and I can’t see why we won’t be utilising that. He went really well in a Byford trial two Sundays ago. The lead time wasn’t fast and I led early before handing up to noted frontrunner Thereugo.

“I came off Thereugo’s back at the 600m and ran two strong quarters (29.4sec. and 27.4sec.) to win by six lengths from Thereugo.”

Suspicious Life, owned by Graham Skelton, was trained early in his career by Prue George and the gelding notched his first win when Egerton-Green drove him to an all-the-way success over Nellie Babe at Pinjarra in November 2015 when he was an outsider at $47.60.

Suspicious Life then won at Northam two starts later and Egerton-Green took over as trainer two months after that when George was fully occupied with work and family commitments. The Life Sign gelding, with Michael Grantham in the sulky, won at three of his first five starts for his new trainer in February-March 2016 and also was successful at Gloucester Park in August and September.

After winning by three lengths from Four Legged Frenzy in September Suspicious Life broke down with tendon trouble in a hind leg, an injury that resulted in a 20-month absence.

“I brought him back into work early this year and gave him five starts in May and June,” Egerton-Green said. His five runs included two excellent seconds to Ardens Concord over 2536m and Dominate The Dojo over 1730m.

“He didn’t have much luck in his other three runs and I gave him a month off and freshened him up,” Egerton-Green said. “His Byford trial was very good.”

Egerton-Green nominated Hoiho, Ace Bromac and Twentynine Twelve as the main dangers to Suspicious Life on Friday night. He drove the Kaiden Hayter-trained Hoiho when the six-year-old finished an encouraging second to Fizzing at Wagin on Thursday of last week. Hayter has engaged Chris Lewis to drive Hoiho this week.

Egerton-Green is also enthusiastic about the each-way prospects of Maxentius in the TABtouch Better Your Bet Pace and Amelias Courage in the The Direct Trades Supply first heat of the Preux Chevalier Pace for mares. He will handle both pacers for ace trainer Colin Brown.

The New South Wales-bred Maxentius, a five-year-old by Mach Three and a winner at 11 of his 40 starts, will be resuming after an absence of six months and will start from the outside of the back line in the 2130m event.

He shows wonderful promise and has been placed in three group feature events, including in his splendid second to Chicago Bull in the Group 2 Four and Five-Year-Old Classic last March when he finished ahead of Runrunjimmydunn, Sheer Rocknroll and Ima Rocket Legend. A winner of seven country races in NSW, Maxentius has had 14 starts in WA for four wins and three placings. He looks set for a bright career.

“It’s a handy field in which Madame Meilland looks the hardest to beat,” said Egerton-Green. Maxentius has been working really well and if he gets a clear split he should run into the money. I can’t see why he can’t get home.”

Madame Meilland, a five-year-old New South Wales-bred mare who won three country events in Victoria, has had 19 starts in WA for eight wins and seven placings. She will be handled from barrier four by Mitch Miller, who has driven the mare nine times for five wins and two seconds.

Madame Meilland was extremely unlucky last Friday night when she raced three wide early and then in the breeze before being knocked out of the race 120m from the finish when she locked wheels with the pacemaker Better B Chevron.

Amelias Courage is a promising four-year-old who has had 43 starts for ten wins, 14 seconds and two thirds and she has sound prospects, even from her wide draw at No. 8. She led when a half-head second to You Gotta Have Faith over 2185m at Pinjarra on Monday of last week.

“She had every chance at Pinjarra, but she should go well on Friday night,” Egerton-Green said.

There appears to be many winning chances in a wide-open race, including the polemarker Miss Stonebridge, a fast-finishing winner for Capel trainer-reinsman Ash Markham over 1684m at Pinjarra two starts ago before she impressed at Gloucester Park on Tuesday of last week when she was seventh (and last) at the bell before finishing powerfully into second place behind Innocent Affair over 1730m.

Innocent Affair, trained by Debra Lewis and driven by her husband Chris, maintained her excellent form when she set the pace and finished second to Our Alfie Romeo over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Tuesday night. She will start from barrier five and cannot be underestimated. Bettorgrinanbarit, Anna Faye and Soho Changeling are also racing keenly.