Voak lays down the gauntlet
“I’d say Pinny Tiger will burn to the front,” declared ace reinsman Chris Voak when assessing the six-year-old’s prospects in the $100,000 Trotsynd J. P. Stratton Cup at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“Am I going to fire Pinny Tiger out? Absolutely, there’s no doubt about it, especially over 2130 metres. It’s going to be extremely quick early if he doesn’t cross to the front. Leading is his best chance of winning.
“I haven’t spoken to Mouse (Pinny Tiger’s trainer Michael Brennan) yet, but I have no doubt he will say ‘pull the trigger early and take no prisoners. The journey is a major factor for Pinny Tiger.”
Pinny Tiger will start from the No. 5 barrier, with the brilliant Mister Smartee, the odds-on favourite to extend his winning sequence to eight and his record to 13 wins from 15 starts, favourably drawn at barrier two.
Gary Hall jnr, who drives Mister Smartee for his father and trainer Gary Hall snr, is under no illusion that the exciting New Zealand-bred four-year-old will have a simple task of winning the start and setting the pace.
“We will try to lead,” said Hall jnr. “Mister Smartee runs his best races in front, and he’s getting better at getting out of the gate. Pinny Tiger has great gate speed, and we will have to come out and see one way or another whether he can hold out Pinny Tiger.
“We have had a few runs now in which we have asked Mister Smartee to come out (fast), and he should be ready for it on Friday night.”
Mister Smartee maintained his superb form last Friday week when he set the pace from the No. 2 barrier and won the 2536m Brennan Memorial by a length and a half from the Voak-trained Sangue Reale, who began from barrier one and trailed Pinny Tiger before getting into the clear 50m from the post and running on strongly.
Pinny Tiger began from the inside of the back line and raced three back on the pegs before getting off the inside on the home turn and fighting on to finish fourth. His cause was not helped by overracing when hemmed in on the pegs.
Voak, who has received permission from the stewards to drive Pinny Tiger ahead of his own nomination Sangue Reale, said that Kyle Symington, who drove Sangue Reale in the Brennan Memorial, had told him that the rejuvenated eight-year-old would have given Mister Smartee something to think about if he had gained a clear run earlier.
With Symington to drive Swingband for trainer Ryan Bell, Voak has engaged leading reinsman Shannon Suvaljko to handle Sangue Reale, who faces a tough assignment from out wide at barrier eight.
“The draw kills Sangue Reale, but he has gone to a whole new level lately,” said Voak. “I’m excited about him getting a start in the WA Pacing Cup (on November 8). He is a sit-sprint horse, and I give him a big chance if the race is run upside down.”
Bell said that Swingband, a winner at 13 of his 33 starts, was ready to perform strongly at his first appearance since finishing tenth behind Catch A Wave in the Fremantle Cup on April 26 this year. A week earlier Swingband impressed when he ran home powerfully to finish a close third behind Catch A Wave and Minstrel in the $1.2 million Nullarbor.
Swingband is handily drawn at barrier two on the back line. “I’m very happy with him,” said Bell. “He had a race condition hit-out at Gloucester Park last Saturday with a galloping pacemaker when he worked over a mile and a half. He has been in work for a good while. We have taken our time with a specific plan not to go to the well too early.”
Boyanup trainer Justin Prentice holds a strong hand in Friday night’s Cup in which he will drive Mighty Ronaldo from the prized No. 1 barrier, and he has engaged star Sydney reinsman Jack Callaghan to drive stablemate Tricky Miki from barrier three.
Mighty Ronaldo finished solidly from sixth at the bell to finish third behind the pacemaker Diego and Gambit in the Stratton Cup in January 2023. Mighty Ronaldo is sure to be improved by his first-up sixth behind Mister Smartee in the Brennan Memorial last Friday week.
Tricky Miki looks set for another strong performance following his splendid second-up effort when he set the pace from barrier one and sprinted over the final 800m in 55.4sec. to win a 2536m event last Friday night, beating Lavra Joe by 8m.
Maddison Brown will be looking for a remarkable three successive wins in the Stratton Cup with Diego, who will be having his second start after a brief spell. He is awkwardly drawn at barrier six.
Diego began from the No. 1 barrier when he led throughout and beat Gambit and Mighty Ronaldo in the Stratton Cup on January 6, 2023, and he also set the pace from the No. 1 barrier when he beat Magnificent Storm and Tenzing Bromac on October 27, 2023.
Diego is trained by Hall snr and is one of the master trainer’s four runners, the others being Mister Smartee, Wildwest (Aiden De Campo) and Jumpingjackmac (Stuart McDonald). Hall has won the Stratton Cup seven times --- scoring with Bengeeman (2002), Alzona (2011), Waylade (2015), Chicago Bull (2018 and 2020) and Diego (January 2023 and October 2023).
Deni Roberts will drive Tenzing Bromac from the inside of the back line. He will have admirers following his fighting third behind Mister Smartee last Friday week when he had a tough run in the breeze.
Chance for The Miki Taker
WA-bred five-year-old The Miki Taker has a losing sequence of nine, but he gets an ideal opportunity to return to winning form when he lines up at barrier six in the $21,000 Trotsynd Pacing To Victory Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“He drops in grade, and I’ll probably drive him more positively, and hopefully he will get the job done,” said Capel trainer-reinsman Aiden De Campo.
“He has been racing in Free-For-All company and from the outside barrier at his past two starts. He has been going well but has had no luck at all.”
The Miki Taker raced at the rear all the way and had no chance last Friday night when Tricky Miki dashed over the final 400m sections in 27.8sec. and 27.6sec.
His toughest rival appears certain to be OK Boomer, who will start from the outside barrier in the field of nine. OK Boomer has raced in fine form for trainer-reinsman Lindsay Harper, setting the pace and winning from Gee Heza Sport at a 1.56.7 rate over 2130m last Friday night.
De Campo also has several other excellent each-way prospects on Friday night, including Menemsha (race three), Dominus Factum (race four) and Magnus Victor (race nine).
Menemsha, who is ranked at No. 7 for the $200,000 WA Derby on Friday week, will start from barrier seven in the Vale Hubert Tucker Pace for three-year-olds.
“He was disappointing when third behind Caberneigh at Bunbury two starts ago but was better last week (when he led and finished third behind Christopher Dance in the group 3 Western Gateway),” said De Campo.
“Seven is not the ideal draw this week, and he has taken a little bit of time to start trying again. He suffered an atrial fibrillation five starts ago, and two starts after that he hurt his knee, and these things have knocked his confidence.
“I’ve been working on getting his confidence back, and last week was a positive sign.”
Dominus Factum will need to overcome a testing barrier at No. 7 in the $25,000 Trotsynd#Winnerswin Pace over 1730m in which he will clash with Goodfellaz (barrier one), Jawsoflincoln (two), Im The Black Flash (nine) and Steel The Show (11).
Dominus Factum impressed at his third appearance after a spell when he led early and then trailed the pacemaker Paul Edward before finishing strongly to win from Chivalry over 2130m last Friday week when the final 800m was covered in 55.8sec.
“The mile suits but it’s a tough field for him,” said De Campo. “I’ll play it by ear and see how he goes.”
Magnus Victor began from the outside of the back line when he dashed forward, three wide, to get to the breeze after 550m before taking the lead at the 100m and finishing second to the fast-finishing Faster Than Dad over 2130m last Friday week.
He is favourably drawn at barrier two and De Campo will be aiming to set the pace. “He is getting back into form nicely, and hopefully he will find the front, and if he does, he will be hard to beat,” he said. “He is probably my best for the night.”
Egerton-Green picks Dame Valour
Serpentine trainer Dylan Egerton-Green holds a strong hand with three runners in the Trotsynd Register Your Interest Pace for fillies and mares at Gloucester Park on Friday night, and he has given punters a good lead by choosing to drive Dame Valour ahead of stablemates Our Lady Jen and Rebline.
Dame Valour is favourably drawn on the inside of the back line, with Egerton-Green saying: “She has had a few problems with her feet and has had a few weeks off from racing. Fingers crossed, we have her back on track, and she should go good.”
Five-year-old Dame Valour has shown plenty of promise and her 23 starts have produced seven wins, six seconds and two thirds.
Our Lady Jen, a winner at nine of her 44 starts, will start from the coveted No. 1 barrier and will be driven by Aiden De Campo. “She was unlucky when sixth behind Our Sandy Shore over 1684m at Pinjarra last Monday week,” said Egerton-Green.
A week earlier Our Lady Jen raced in the one-out, one-back position before finishing solidly to win from Our Sandy Shore over 2185m at Pinjarra.
Rebline, a winner at eight of her 50 starts, will begin from barrier four, with Jack Callaghan in the sulky. She raced three back on the pegs when she was blocked for a clear run in the final stages and finished a close-up fifth behind The Beaudster over 2242m at Narrogin on Tuesday of last week.
“She couldn’t get out at Narrogin and was absolutely bolting at the finish,” said Egerton-Green. “Hopefully, she will get a nice run on Friday night.”
Four-year-old Peaceful, trained and driven by Jocelyn Young, will be a short-priced favourite who will need to overcome the disadvantage of starting from the outside barrier (No. 9) on the front line in the 2130m event.
Peaceful has been placed at her past three appearances in stronger mares’ company, and she looks capable of returning to winning form.
Maddison Brown has chosen to drive Our Sandy Shore ahead of Xceptional Arma for her father, Banjup trainer Colin Brown, who has engaged Gary Hall jnr to handle Xceptional Arma, the only three-year-old filly in the vent.
Xceptional Arma, who will begin from the No. 6 barrier, has a splendid record of 12 wins, eight seconds and four thirds from 35 starts.
Egerton-Green, who will have eight stable runners in action on Friday night, considers one of his best prospects to be six-year-old Otis, who will start from barrier five in the 2130m Trotsynd Group 1 Winners Pace.
Otis covered a lot of extra ground before finishing eighth behind Sorridere over 2130m last Friday night.
“He should be dominant from barrier five, in front or in the breeze, and should fight out the finish,” said Egerton-Green.
Thenu Came Along set to lead
Promising gelding Thenu Came Along is poised to make a late bid to gain a place in the field to contest the $200,000 WA Derby on Friday week by winning the $21,000 Vale Hubert Tucker Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
He is currently ranked at No. 15 for a start in the Derby, and Deni Roberts, who drives the three-year-old for leading trainers Greg and Sky Bond, is confident he will prove hard to beat, particularly with the advantage of beginning from the prized No. 1 barrier.
“The plan will be to lead, and hopefully be good enough,” said Roberts. “He gets out of the gate quite well, and his eighth behind Christopher Dance in last week’s Western Gateway was when he began out wide at barrier eight and was unable to get into the race.
At his previous outing Thenu Came Along impressed when he set the pace from the No. 2 barrier and dashed over the final 400m sections in 28.5sec. and 27.7sec. to win by four lengths from Sonic Chip.
Among Thenu Came Along’s chief rivals are Menemsha, who has a Derby ranking of No. 7, and several in-form runners Ideal Muscle, Maximum Rock, Atlantic Gem, Quinton and Soho Honey Rider.
Menemsha faces a stern test from out wide at barrier seven, while Ideal Muscle was an all-the-way winner over 2536m last Friday night when he defeated Maximum Rock, Quinton and Atlantic Gem.
Maximum Rock caught the eye when he was eighth at the bell and ran home fast to finish a head behind Ideal Muscle. “It was an excellent run last week, and a week earlier he finished a good third behind Golden Lode and Alta Tribute,” said trainer-reinsman Chris Voak.
“He is a very good sit-sprint horse who has beaten most of the runners he will meet on Friday night. He will hit the line like a bullet again.”
Roberts said that Thenu Came Along and the Bob Mellsop-trained Hold That Gold were her best winning prospects on the ten-event program. Hold That Gold will start from barrier four in the 2536m Trotsynd Supports JP Pacing Trot.
“Hold That Gold went very good last start (when he led and won easily from Sellune and Marengo Bay at Pinjarra on Monday of last week),” said Roberts. “Hopefully, he can get to the top, and that’s where he does his best work.”
Tenzing Bromac should also be prominent for Roberts when he starts from the inside of the back line in the Trotsynd J. P. Stratton Cup, while Steel The Show and Street Hawk will have many admirers.
Steel The Show will start from the back line in the 1730m Trotsynd#Winnerswin Pace, and Street Hawk will resume after a spell when he begins out wide at barrier seven in the Trotsynd Syndication Pace.
“The sprint is not ideal for Steel The Show, but don’t rule him out,” said Roberts. “Street Hawk’s work has been pretty. He has a tough draw, first-up, but he has good ability, and I expect a good showing.”
Street Hawk will clash with The Code Breaker, who is favourably drawn at barrier No. 1 for trainer Ryan Bell and reinsman Kyle Symington.
The Code Breaker has been unplaced at his past eleven starts, but Bell is looking forward to the seven-year-old returning to winning form, saying: “We will be making every post a winner. He gets his chance to win another race. He numerical form doesn’t reflect on how well he is going.
“He is a horse who has always relied on a barrier draw, and it is a while since he’s been out in front. He is quick out, and we will give him his chance out in front.”
