Bettors Gem, often underestimated by harness racing aficionados, has regained her best form and looks a major chance in the third heat of the Retravision Nights of Thunder over 1730m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The WA-bred five-year-old is wonderfully versatile, possessing blistering gate speed as well as a powerful finishing burst.
Pinjarra trainer-reinsman Shane Young declared that Bettors Gem had bright prospects from an ideal barrier at No. 2 over the sprint journey at her sixth start after a spell.
“She is very quick and at the moment I’m not sure what I’ll do, whether to take the gamble and see if we can cross Char Do Neigh in barrier one,” he said. “The alternative is to sit on Char Do Neigh’s back.
“In her previous campaign, as a four-year-old, she stepped up and showed that she’s a good mare — not at the top of the rankings, but in the top ten in the State. She went 1.54 when she won from Twoandahalf Tigers over 1730m last season. And she’s close to that form now.
“Two weeks ago she got out (from barrier nine and challenged Mon Lillies for the early lead) when I didn’t even ask her to get out of the gate. She raced in the breeze and I thought should would have gone close to winning had she not locked wheels with Shes Artful in the last lap.
“Last week she had a good draw on the inside of the back line when she raced three back on the pegs before finishing solidly to be second to Bettor be Supreme in the Coulson final.”
Young said that a setback had affected Bettors Gem’s performances in group feature events for mares in November and December when she was unplaced behind Major Reality in the Norms Daughter Classic and The Parade in the $125,000 Westral Mares Classic.
“She had an ulcer on an eye just before she was due to come back into work and this set her back two to three weeks and I didn’t have enough time to give her a couple of starts before the big races for mares,” Young said.
Char Do Neigh, a winner at ten of his 39 starts, is perfectly drawn at barrier one for trainers Greg and Skye Bond and reinsman Ryan Warwick is sure to be anxious to set the pace in a race which promises to develop into a match between Char Do Neigh, Bettors Gem and American Boy.
The return to racing of American Boy after a four-month absence will create considerable interest. The five-year-old American Boy, trained by Gary Hall sen., has made a tremendous start to his career, with his 21 starts producing 14 wins and four second placings.
Reinsman Gary Hall jun. said that he would make use of American Boy’s gate speed from the No. 3 barrier. “I’ll be driving him fairly aggressively, mindful that only the fastest runners from the three heats will qualify for the final. Last year I won a heat with Algranco Under Fire, but he failed to qualify for the final.”
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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