Noted frontrunner Ti Amo Franco has struck a purple patch of form and his brilliant gate speed should enable him to overcome a wide draw at No. 6 and win the $23,000 2130m mobile event at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Ten-year-old Onedin Crusader (barrier two) and Erskine Range (No. 5) possess excellent gate speed and relish the role of pacemaker. But they will need to be at their top to hold out Ti Amo Franco in the early stages.
Bronze Seeker, a fast-finishing winner over Mohegan Sun over 21230m last Friday night, is in splendid form and will start from the No. 1 barrier. He possesses sound gate speed, but is generally best suited when held up for a late burst.
He has drawn the No. 1 barrier only four times in his first 87 starts in mobiles in Western Australia. Only once in those four starts did he attempt to lead all the way, and that was in a Golden Nugget prelude over 2100m in November 2012 when he finished third behind Soho Valencia. After winning at 11 of his 26 starts in New Zealand, Bronze Seeker has won at nine of his 94 WA appearances.
He has won at four of his past 18 starts after experiencing a losing sequence of 38 in a 17-month period. The winner of the 2014 Albany Cup (beating Lovers Delight) and the 2013 Manea Classic in Bunbury and a nose second to Chancellor Cullen in the 2012 McInerney Ford Classic, the Peter Anderson-trained seven-year-old has also been placed in the Wagin, Kalgoorlie and York Cups. He is racing with youthful enthusiasm and is sure to be dangerous on Friday night.
Ti Amo Franco started out wide at barrier eight in the $50,000 Nights of Thunder final last Friday week when he began speedily and took the lead after 550m. He bowled along in front and finished second to the fast-finishing Mohegan Sun. He led from barrier two and sprinted over the final quarters in 28.1sec. and 27.6sec. when an easy winner over Ohoka Squire, rating 1.53.3 over 1730m the previous week.
Erskine Range has resumed after a spell in fine style for Banjup trainer Colin Brown and should prove hard to beat from the No. 5 barrier, with Maddison Brown in the sulky. He reappeared after a three-month absence at Gloucester Park early this month when he began fast, raced wide early and then in the breeze before finishing second to Copagrin over 2536m.
The enigmatic Machtu has yet to regain his best form in this campaign. But he is capable of considerable improvement. He looks well placed from the No. 3 barrier.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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