Soho Seraphine is poised to atone
Soho Seraphine is sure to have derived considerable benefit from her first-up performance when a close-up fourth behind Acharne Girl in the group 3 Kerry Clarke Pace last week and is poised to make amends by winning the $30,000 Nova 93.7 Lewis Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
She is favourably drawn at barrier two and Mitch Miller is expected to make a determined bid to get to an early lead and then dictate terms in front with the four-year-old mare who has set the pace in five of her eight victories.
Last Friday night when having her first start for 15 weeks Soho Seraphine was smartest to begin from the No. 1 barrier and then had to fend off an early challenge from Paraquet before being put under considerable pressure in the middle stages by Three Rumours. The final 800m of the 2130m event was run in 56.7sec.
Wall Street Girl, who is in top form with two wins and two placings from her past four starts, has drawn the coveted No. 1 barrier and will be handled by Maddison Brown, who was in the sulky when the five-year-old led from barrier seven, set the pace and won easily in modest company over 2536m three starts ago.
Then Chris Lewis drove Wall Street Girl (owned and trained by his wife Debra) at Gloucester Park at her next two starts for a second to Secret Reaction after racing without cover, and then running home solidly from the rear to win from Chaco Eagle.
Lewis, who has driven Wall Street Girl 36 times for seven wins, nine seconds and five thirds, has opted to drive the Barry Howlett-trained Little Darling, who will begin from the No. 2 barrier on the back line.
Lewis has driven Little Darling at 22 of her 23 starts for seven wins and nine placings. She reappeared at Gloucester Park last Friday night after an absence of 18 months when she was restrained to the rear from barrier six and raced three wide in the final circuit before finishing tenth behind Acharne Girl. She is capable of improvement from a favourable draw this week.
Favourites have been beaten in the past five runnings of the Lewis Pace, with Dontbesillychilly, a $53.70 outsider from the No. 9 barrier charging home from last at the 500m to career away to win by four and a half lengths from the $1.80 favourite Acharne Girl in June last year.
Egerton-Green will be looking to repeat the dose when he drives Champagne Everyone from the inside of the back line on Friday night. Champagne Everyone notched her sixth win from 31 starts when she led from barrier five and beat The Wand Waver over 2242m at Narrogin last Saturday night.
Trainer Lang Inwood has Eye Better racing in good style, and the experienced six-year-old is capable of a solid effort from barrier six, with Emily Suvaljko in the sulky.
Eye Better finished strongly to win the 2130m Kellerberrin Cup from Barbados two starts ago, and then started from the outside of the back line and settled down in second last position before dashing forward to move to the breeze after 400m in a 2190m event at Northam on Tuesday night. She worked hard without cover before getting to the front 120m from the post and winning from Brewery Lane.
Interesting test for Water Lou
Brilliant three-year-old filly Water Lou is in devastating form, and she faces an interesting test when she clashes with exciting debutant Flybye Lou in the $21,000 Perth’s #1 Station Nova 93.7 Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The New Zealand-bred filly Flybe Lou possesses abundant natural speed, and she will start from the No. 1 barrier, with Water Lou, attempting to extend her winning sequence to nine, at the outside barrier in the field of six.
Water Lou, trained by Mike Reed and to be driven by Shannon Suvaljko, has amassed $325,071 in prizemoney from 17 wins and two second placings from 21 starts, and her speed, strength and versatility should prove far too big a hurdle for her five rivals to overcome.
However, an outstanding effort in a 2150m Byford trial on Sunday morning showed that Flybe Lou has the potential to extend Water Lou.
Flybe Lou was driven by Gary Hall jnr for trainer Michael Young in the trial in which she began like a flash from the No. 3 barrier and quickly established a lead of 50 metres over her nearest rival No Noney. The margin increased to 100m after a lap, and Flybe Lou was not extended in coasting to victory by 56m over No Noney.
Flybe Lou rated a smart 1.57.1, with the quarters of the final mile being run in 30.1sec., 28.7sec., 30.6sec. and 30.5sec. She is by top-flight American sire Sweet Lou and is the fourth foal out of the American Ideal mare Ideal Flybe, who was retired after racing 31 times for ten wins and four placings for stakes of $62,468.
Flybe Lou’s half-sister (by Bettors Delight) is Kahlua Flybye, who has earned $197,739 from eight wins and 15 placings from 32 starts. She has been placed in five group 1 events and twice in group 3 races.
Young is impressed with Flybye Lou’s natural speed and all-round talent, but he doubts her ability at this initial stage of her career of beating Water Lou.
“She hasn’t got the race smarts to beat Water Lou,” he explained. “She has bad racing manners in that she pulls a lot. Junior (Hall) couldn’t hold her any slower in the trial. Water Lou’s greater experience should prove to be a winning factor.”
Coney Island Lou’s smart trial
An impressive trial at Byford on Sunday morning was a strong pointer that the New Zealand-bred four-year-old would prove hard to beat at his Australian debut when he contests the $21,000 Steel Blue Work Boots Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Coney Island Lou, trained by Gary Hall snr and to be driven by Gary Hall jnr, will start from the No. 5 barrier, and he should appreciate a drop in class after his most recent appearance was in the rich New Zealand Derby over 2600m at Addington on December 10 last year.
He began from the outside of the front line in the Derby, was restrained back to last in the 14-horse field and raced seven back on the pegs before battling on to finish eleventh behind the winner Merlin.
That was his fourth successive unplaced effort, following three tenth placings. His most recent success was five starts ago when he rated 1.55.2 over 1980m at Addington last September when he covered the final 800m in 55.2sec. and the last 400m in 27.5sec.
He revealed excellent gate speed and took up the running after 200m before relinquishing the lead to Triple G 100m later and then finishing solidly along the sprint lane to win in a four-way photo finish.
Coney Island Lou, a winner at Addington as a two and three-year-old, has had 15 starts for four wins, four placings and $70,550.
He raced three back on the pegs in Sunday’s 2150m five-horse Byford trial in which Hall jnr eased him off the pegs 550m from home and took him to the front 300m later on his way to winning, unextended, by a length from Acuto, rating 2.1, with final quarters of 29sec. and 28.3sec. after which the previous 400m sections were run slowly in 33sec. and 29.7sec.
Coney Island Lou is unlikely to stroll to victory against some good in-form pacers including Ideal Tomado, Holy Hecka, Rocknroll Elliot and Arma Xfactor.
Apart from Coney Island Lou, Hall has several other good winning prospects including Youre So Fine (race two), Eve Crocker (race five) and Chillin (race eight).
Full brothers to clash
There will be a rare occurrence at Gloucester Park on Friday night when talented full-brothers Steel The Show ad Jett Star clash in the Smooth FM Free-For-All, a $31,000 event over 2536m.
And there is an extremely strong chance that the New Zealand-bred pacers who are prepared by leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond, will provide a quinella result.
Outstanding driver Deni Roberts, fresh from four winners from the Bond stable last Friday night, had the choice of drives, and, not surprisingly, she has opted to handle the seven-year-old Steel The Show, with Stuart McDonald engaged to drive six-year-old Jett Star for the first time.
For Roberts to pick Steel The Show it was a no-brainer, but she certainly would have had some misgivings about relinquishing the drive behind Jett Star, who she has driven to three wins at Gloucester Park from his past four starts to take her record in the sulky behind the horse to 27 drives for ten wins, seven seconds and one third.
Roberts has handled Steel The Show in all of his 25 starts in Western Australia for eight wins, four seconds and three thirds.
Steel The Show, placed behind Diego and Wildwest at his past two starts, has raced in much stronger company than Jett Star throughout his career. Underlining his quality is the fact that he finished fourth behind Betterzippit, Spirit Of St Louis and Jumpingjackmac in the Nullarbor in April 2023 and was fifth behind Magnificent Storm in the WA Pacing Cup last November.
On Friday night Steel The Show will start from the outside in the small field of six, with Jett Star at barrier No. 5.
The Bond stable and Roberts also have strong winning prospects with Street Hawk in the Nova’s Fresh Country Handicap and Lusaka in the Smooth Perth On Digital Radio Handicap.
Street Hawk, the sole backmarker off 20m, looks outstanding in the 2503m stand in which Chris Voak’s Trouble Supreme, a frontmarker, appears his chief rival.
Street Hawk is not foolproof in standing-start events, but he has a good record, having contested six stands for two wins and three seconds. At his latest appearance he began from 20m and finished a nose second to Twobob Cracker at Gloucester Park last Friday week, and at his previous outing he began from 20m and won the 2560m York Cup at Northam when he finished powerfully to easily beat Feeling Aces. In April last year Street Hawk finished second to hector in the Easter Cup at Gloucester Park.
Four-year-old Lusaka is in outstanding form, and he looks set to fight out the finish of the seventh event, in which he will start from the outside in a strong field of seven runners.
Lusaka notched his 14TH win from 28 starts when he sprinted home brilliantly from the rear at the bell to defeat Machs Bettor at a 1.55.6 rate over 2130m.
Among his rivals this week is Montana D J, who also impressed last Friday night with an easy victory at a 1.54.9 rate over 1730m when he charged home from seventh at the bell.
“I have decided to race him out of his class this week to ensure drawing the No. 1 barrier,” said his trainer Michael Young. “He has good gate speed, and the plan will be to lead. And I think he is good enough to win.”
Young also is expecting strong performances from Lamandier in race two and Chillin in race eight.
Lamandier set the pace when he finished a head second to My Ultimate Baxter over 1730m last Friday night. He will be suited from the No. 2 barrier in the 2130m Nova Boy’s Pace.
Chillin will also appreciate the favourable No. 2 barrier in the Perth’s Kate Mac For Breakfast Pace over 1730m. He fought on solidly from sixth at the bell to finish an encouraging fourth behind Rattlin Lilly over 2130m last Friday night.
Whataretheodds will start from the No. 1 barrier in the opening event, and he should get punters away to a flying start by leading all the way for reinsman Aiden De Campo. Whataretheodds, trained by Ryan Bell, has resumed after a spell in fine style with second placings behind Velocipede and Codename Marcus.
