REBECCA AMY LOOKS THE ONE TO BEAT IN THE DIAMOND CLASSIC

Rebecca Amy, a speedy and versatile filly, has the credentials to overcome a difficult barrier and emerge triumphant in the $100,000 D’Orsogna Diamond Classic at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

She will start from the No. 6 barrier and reinsman Callan Suvaljko’s first option is likely to be a spirited bid for the early lead.

Trained at Serpentine by Suvaljko’s wife Amanda, Rebecca Amy mustered plenty of pace from barrier six in a qualifying heat of this classic last Tuesday week and forged to the front after 100m.

She then set a solid pace and won comfortably from Prix de Whitby, who trailed her throughout and was hampered for room in the home straight.

Rebecca Amy showed her versatility four starts before that, at Gloucester Park on February 22, when she started from barrier seven and thundered home from seventh at the bell to score an impressive victory over the pacemaker Mazeltov.

Rebecca Amy, a filly by Rich And Spoilt, has won at three of her five starts and will take her earnings to $81,855 if she is successful 2130m Diamond Classic. She was purchased by Suvaljko Pacing for $24,000 at the Gloucester Standardbred yearling sale in February 2009. 

Prix de Whitby, a winner at three of her eight starts, again looms as a serious threat to Rebecca Amy. Reon Tither, who drove Prix de Whitby when she finished second to Rebecca Amy last week, said that the John Graham-trained filly had thrived since her run in the heats.

Tither, stable foreman for Graham, said that little separated Prix de Whitby and her stablemate Beautiful Night, who qualified for this week’s classic with a splendid victory at her debut last Tuesday week when she sat behind the pacemaker Brush With Courage before sprinting fast in the home straight to win from that filly.

“Beautiful Night and Prix de Whitby worked together in good style at the Bunbury track on Tuesday morning,” Tither said. “The fillies were not asked to run fast times and they went to the line strongly. Beautiful Night set the pace and Prix de Whitby sat behind her before finishing strongly. They finished on terms.

“The draw (barrier three) favours Beautiful Night.” Chris Lewis, who was in the sulky when Dilingers Reign won the 2005 Diamond Classic from Asahi, will drive Beautiful Night and Tither will handle Prix de Whitby.

 

Tither was in good form at Gloucester Park on Tuesday night when he drove the Graham-trained Trunkey Galileo to an easy victory in a qualifying heat for the Pearl Classic.
       
The most impressive performer in the heats was the Barry Warwick-trained Miss Baypoint, who raced three back on the pegs and did not get clear until late before finishing strongly to be a close second to Miss Worthy Whitby.

However, Miss Baypoint’s prospects in the final slumped when she drew the outside barrier (No. 9).

Miss Worthy Whitby, who took the lead after 550m before winning her qualifying heat, is one of two finalists from Bob Mellsop’s Waroona stables. His other runner is Seven of Spades, who ran home gamely when fourth behind Miss Worthy Whitby in a heat last week.

Owner-breeder Harry Capararo fared well in the random barrier draw, with Lucky Adda drawing the pole and Cool Adda No. 2. 

 TOP TRAINER HALL LOOKS SET FOR A BRIGHT START

Leading trainer Gary Hall sen. should get punters away to a flying start by providing the quinella with Rigatoni and Awesome Achiever in the opening event, The West Australian Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

Each was most impressive at his latest start and they look set to fight out the finish of the 2130m event.

A better barrier, No. 4 on the front line, should tilt the scales in favour of Rigatoni ahead of Awesome Achiever, who will start from barrier two on the back line.

The New South Wales-bred Rigatoni bounced back to top form at Gloucester Park last Tuesday week when he raced wide early, moved into the breeze 650m after the start and then obtained an ideal passage, one-out and one-back, before running home determinedly to win by a head from the pacemaker All Courage. He sprinted the final 800m in 57.7sec. in notching his 12th win from 61 starts.

Four-year-old Awesome Achiever worked hard without cover before wilting over the final 80m to finish fourth behind Lorian Silver over 2130m at Gloucester Park last Friday week.

Awesome Achiever was most impressive a week earlier when he settled down in ninth position and dashed forward to race outside the leader Dontmakemeangry with 750m to travel before finishing strongly to get up and snatch victory from that pacer by a nose.

Hall also has an excellent third string in the opening event in the ultra-consistent New Zealand-bred four-year-old Betta Crusa, who has had 26 starts for eight wins, eight seconds and two thirds.    

 WELL-BRED PACERS TO GIVE OLIVIERI A BOOST

New South Wales-bred four-year-old Ima Spicey Lombo, a granddaughter of former champion mare Whitbys Miss Penny, and five-year-old Tsunami Lombo, a son of another champion mare Tailamade Lombo, are the latest arrivals from Victoria in the Oakford stables of Ross Olivieri.

Each pacer will be strongly fancied when they appear at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

Ima Spicey Lombo had no luck when Sydney trainer Paul Fitzpatrick sent her to Perth to contest the WA Oaks 13 months ago. She started a hot favourite from the outside barrier, settled in last place and was forced wide before finishing 11th behind Sheer Royalty.

She had given a sample of her class with her win in the Queensland Oaks two months earlier.

Ima Spicey Lombo will be driven by Chris Lewis when she contests the D’Orsogna Premium Bacon Pace over 2130m on Friday night. She has drawn out at barrier eight, but should prove too smart for her 11 rivals.

A winner of 12 races in NSW,  two in Victoria and two in Queensland from only 39 starts (for earnings of $199,401), Ima Spicey Lombo has won only once from ten starts this season. Her most recent success was when she dashed over the final 800m in 57.8sec. and rated 1.58 over 2100m at Geelong four starts ago.

She is out of Sexy Lexy Whitby, a mare who won only once (at Northam in June 2001) from eight starts. Sexy Lexy Whitby’s dam Whitbys Miss Penny was a superstar who amassed $568,289 in stakes from her 32 wins and six placings from 50 starts.

Tsunami Lombo, who will start from barrier six with Lewis in the sulky in the 2130m D’Orsogna Delicious Antipasto Pace, is by Jennas Beach Boy out of Tailamade Lombo, a top-flight mare who retired with an outstanding record of 110 starts for 49 wins, 25 placings and stakes of $1,354,978.

Tailamade Lombo won twice from eight starts in WA as a two-year-old in the 1996-97 season before going on to win in Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania.

Tsunami Lombo was unplaced at his first three starts in WA in November 2006 before he was sent to Victoria where his 32 starts produced nine wins and 11 placings. His most recent success was at Melton three months ago when he sustained a powerful finishing burst and rated 1.55.3 over 1720m.

Tsunami Lombo will clash with in-form pacers The Hunter, Barachias, Omegarama and Inthe Barrack.

The Hunter won brilliantly in successive Gloucester Park mobile starts before he galloped hopelessly at the start of a stand and lost 80m last Friday night. He put in a tremendous performance to run on from last to finish sixth behind Waikawa Bay.

Barachias followed impressive city placings behind Tuapeka Tiz and Pablito with smart wins at Pinjarra and Bunbury. Omegarama resumed after a spell in good style with a fighting three-length second behind Jumbo Operator (after racing without cover) at Northam last Saturday night, and Inthe Barrack is racing keenly with a win and three placings from his past five starts.

 BRILLIANT SCOT BAY IS OUT OF RICH PEARL FINAL

Bad luck struck a devastating blow to owner Doug Sutton and trainer Debra Sutton when their star two-year-old Scot Bay was knocked out of the $100,000 Pearl Classic next Friday week when the gelding was forced to retire from a qualifying heat at Gloucester Park on Tuesday night.

Scot Bay, favourite at 10/1 on after his first eight starts had produced six wins and two seconds, began speedily from barrier four in his heat and burst to the front soon after the start.

But the tyre of his off-side sulky wheel was punctured and reinsman David Young pulled the brilliant pacer out of the event after travelling only 350m.

Shannon Suvaljko got Soho Dionysus away smartly from barrier six and while he was angling that gelding down towards the pegs in an attempt to secure the ideal run behind the favourite, Soho Dionysus’s near foreleg contacted the off-side wheel of Scot Bay’s sulky.

Scot Bay was in front approaching the home turn in the first lap when the tube started to peel off the rim of the wheel, and, in the interests of safety, Young eased the gelding to the outside of the track and returned to the birdcage.

Aldo Cortopassi then took the lead with Blissful Union and the gelding led until the final 40m when he was swamped by the fast-finishing Time To Smile, trained and driven by Kim Young, an elder brother of David Young.

The stewards found Suvaljko guilty of careless driving and fined him $200.

“There’s nothing you can do about it,” said a philosophical Doug Sutton. “It’s part of racing, but it leaves a bad taste in your mouth and it’s going to be a long four-hour drive back to Manjimup.”

Sutton said that he had been extremely confident that Scot Bay would have finished in the first three in the Pearl final. He will now prepare Scot Bay for the $125,000 Golden Slipper at Gloucester Park on July 23.

With Scot Bay out of the race, the New Zealand-bred Go West U Terror looks to have a mortgage on the Pearl final. Go West U Terror, part-owned and trained by Bryan Cousins, scored an effortless victory in the second qualifying heat on Tuesday night.

Driven by Gary Hall jun., Go West U Terror, favourite at 5/1 on, raced without cover before dashing to the front 370m from home and winning by three lengths from Desilvio, rating 2.0.9 over the 2130m trip.