Talented pacer Captain Ravishing is set to fly into Perth on Monday night, ahead of a tilt at next month’s TABtouch-WA Pacing Cup (2536m).
Trainer Freddy Taiba confirmed this morning the five-year-old would be on a flight west on Monday night with Justin Prentice’s Eureka runner Never Ending.
“He’s locked into fly on Monday night,” Taiba told Racing WA Harness.
“To be honest, I’ve just got the horse so well, but he just didn’t get any luck in the Smoken Up and Victoria Cup.
“He’s fit and well and it’s not everyday races like this come around and it’s certainly not often you get a horse like this.”
Captain Ravishing, a track record holder for the 2240m at Melton, produced stunning performances to take out the 3YO Breeders Crown and 4YO Bonanza in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
He was also placed in last year’s Chariots Of Fire (1609m) and Eureka (2400m).
Taiba said despite the unplaced finish in last week’s Victoria Cup behind Swayzee, he was still confident Captain Ravishing had the makings of a Grand Circuit horse.
“He’s lightly raced, and I think he has what he needs to be competitive at the top level,” he said.
“He’s the right horse for it and I’m confident we can get him back to the top.
“I don’t think it’s all doom and gloom for him if he doesn’t draw a barrier at Gloucester Park either and we saw that with Catch A Wave earlier this year.
“It’s never easy to go west and you have to have the right horse.”
Captain Ravishing is set to stay at Jemma Hayman’s Oakford stable for the duration of his Perth campaign.
Taiba indicated the son of Captain Treacherous would likely start in the $50,000 Navy Cup (2130m) on November 1 at Gloucester Park.
The $450,000 WA Pacing Cup will take place a week later on November 8.
Tim Walker
