Never Ending faces stern test
Exciting four-year-old Never Ending will resume racing after an absence of 84 days when he contests the $50,000 Nova 93.7 Winter Cup over 2536m at Gloucester Park on Friday night in what is expected to be a serious test against vastly more seasoned, experienced and in-form pacers.
Never Ending, a winner at 14 of his 18 starts, will be taking his first step in this campaign as outstanding Boyanup trainer Justin Prentice prepares for an assault on the $2.1 million Eureka at Menangle on September 7.
Prentice has given Never Ending a thorough preparation, and the Sweet Lou gelding is primed to prove hard to beat at his first appearance after a beneficial spell. He probably will have two or three runs before travelling to Sydney.
Never Ending is a noted frontrunner who has led all the way in six of his wins and has set the pace in five other successes after working in the breeze in the early stages.
The Miki Taker (barrier one), The Code Breaker (two) and Jumpingjackmac (three) have drawn inside Never Ending (four), and there is a strong possibility that Never Ending will be unable to cross to an early lead.
The Miki Taker, trained and driven by Aiden de Campo, is in top form, and he warmed up for this week’s assignment with a striking victory over Mighty Conqueror in a 2130m Free-For-All last Friday night when he charged home from sixth at the bell.
“The Miki Taker doesn’t have a heap of gate speed and the 2536m starting point doesn’t help him,” said de Campo. “But I’ll be coming out as hard as I can and then see what happens. His work this morning (Tuesday) was good and the way he races suggests he is a good stayer, and the 2500 metres should suit him.”
Stuart McDonald will again be in the sulky behind Jumpingjackmac, and he will be hoping for a repeat of his success against Never Ending when Jumpingjackmac won the 2569m Bunbury Cup on March 30 when Never Ending covered extra ground and raced without cover for much of the way before wilting to finish sixth.
After the Bunbury Cup Never Ending was an all-the-way winner of the $100,000 Westbred Classic for four-year-olds and then was most unlucky when ninth behind Catch A Wave in the $1,250,000 Nullarbor on April 19 when his prospects were ruined as he was badly checked approaching the home turn. Champion reinsman Gary Hall jnr declared that Never Ending would have finished second had it not been for the interference.
Hall has driven Never Ending in all his 18 starts but is currently under suspension. Prentice, who has driven 672 winners, will handle Never Ending on Friday night. He has concentrated on training in recent years and has had only four drives in 2023 and this year for a win and three placings.
Champion trainer Gary Hall snr has a remarkable record in the Winter Cup, which was first run in 1947, having won the race eleven times, scoring with Kaydee (1994), The Falcon Strike (2003), Iontheball (2006), Washakie (2008), Im Themightyquinn (2009 and 2013), Davy Maguire (2012), Machtu (2015), Run Oneover (2016), Tact Major (2019) and Prince Of Pleasure (2023).
He holds a strong hand in this year’s Cup, with Jumpingjackmac, Diego (Maddison Brown; barrier six) and Wildwest (Shannon Suvaljko; inside of the back line).
Diego is in excellent form with three thirds and a victory over Wildwest at his past four appearances, while Wildwest has won at his past two runs, following seconds behind Finvarra and Diego.
The Code Breaker (Trent Wheeler) should be prominent from the No. 2 barrier. He was an all-the-way winner over 2130m four starts ago and ran home strongly to win from Steel The Show over 2536m last Friday week.
The consistent Steel The Show will start from barrier seven and will be driven by Dylan Egerton-Green. He is prepared by leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond, who will be looking for a strong first-up performance from Tenzing Bromac, who will be resuming after a three-month break.
Tenzing Bromac, who has a fine record of 36 starts for 17 wins and 13placings, will begin from barrier five and will be handled by Deni Roberts, who said: “He is pretty talented and should run a forward race. He has some good horses drawn inside him.”
Penny Black’s city debut
All eyes will be on recent New Zealand import Penny Black when she makes her metropolitan debut in the Smooth FM Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night for trainer Michael Young and reinsman Shannon Suvaljko.
Penny Black, a four-year-old Sweet Lou mare, has bright prospects of extending her winning sequence to six when she begins from the No. 2 barrier on the back line.
She has not been extended in winning over 2185m at her first four starts in Australia, all at Pinjarra, after winning at her final run in New Zealand, racing in the breeze for the first 300m and then setting the pace and beating Leo Lincoln by three quarters of a length over 2200m at Alexandra Park on December 8 last year.
Penny Black is comparatively inexperienced and has had only ten starts. However, Young is confident she will prove hard to beat on Friday night.
“She is a really nice horse and I think she will go pretty close,” he said. “Hopefully she will go on to bigger and better things later in the year, and I’m looking for a nice start to her metro racing.
“She is the type of horse who looks like going to the line with petrol left in the tank. Those who have driven her have thought she has won with another quarter left in her. I don’t expect her to have any issues racing against more experienced and better performed mares.”
However, Serpentine trainer-reinsman Dylan Egerton-Green considers that Penny Black will not have everything going her way on Friday night. He will drive WA-bred five-year-old Dame Valour from the prized No. 1 barrier.
“She has the gun draw, and hopefully we can make every post a winner,” said Egerton-Green. “Her fourth behind Soho Seraphine last Friday week was good, and four days earlier she ran a good mile rate (1.54.7 over 1684m at Pinjarra) when she won after racing three deep.”
At her latest appearance Dame Valour started out wide at barrier eight and settled down in eleventh position before Egerton-Green dashed her forward after 550m to race in the breeze outside Soho Seraphine.
“Dame Valour looks my best drive on the night,” said Egerton-Green, who has sound prospects with several other drives, including Bellezza Nera (race one), Rockmyster (race four), Otis (race six) and Captain Stirling (race nine).
Otis, an all-the-way winner in a 2130m mobile event at his latest appearance 19 weeks ago, will start from the 20m mark in the Nova’s Fresh Country Handicap, and although he is not a reliable standing-start performer he makes good appeal. He has been placed at three of his past four stands.
Otis impressed with his easy victory in a three-horse mobile trial over 2185m at Pinjarra three Wednesdays ago. He raced in third place in the Indian file trial and finished strongly along the sprint lane to take the lead 130m from the post and win by eight lengths from the pacemaker Make It Happen, rating 1.55.5, with final quarters of 29sec., 28.6sec., 28.6se. and 29.8sec.
Stablemates Lucapelo and Ideal Tomado loom as two of the most serious rivals for Otis, with trainer Michael Young saying he expected strong efforts from both pacers.
Lucapelo will be driven by Maddison Brown from barrier four on the front line, and Deni Roberts will handle Ideal Tomado from the inside of the 10m line.
“Lucapelo won last start (off 30m and beating Barbados by almost three lengths) at Narrogin last Saturday night, and at his previous start (at Gloucester Park) he kicked clear down the back and got beaten by Street Hawk in a stand,” said Young.
“Ideal Tomado, a last-start second to Coney Island Lou, is going as good as I’ve ever had him. But at his only run in a stand (in his 57-start career) he galloped hopelessly (in the Marathon Handicap in August last year). If he steps, he will be around the money.”
The sole backmarker off 30m in Friday night’s race is the Marathon Handicap winner Youre So Fine, the class runner of the field who will be driven by Stuart McDonald and is sure to prove hard to beat.
Vegas Strip resumes
Brilliant three-year-old Vegas Strip will begin his campaign leading into the rich WA Derby on November 8 when he starts from the No. 1 barrier in the 2130m Nova Boy’s Race Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The American Ideal gelding trained by Greg and Skye Bond has the rare distinction at leading in all his seven starts in Western Australia (four times from barrier No. 4, and once each from barriers, five, seven and eight). He won at six of those seven starts and finished a 1m second to Grevis at his other WA appearance, after his two runs in New Zealand produced a second and a fifth placing.
Vegas Strip has not raced since winning by two lengths from Louie Lebeau over 1780m at Northam on February 24, and he looks set to continuing his pacemaking role on Friday night.
“His work has been good, and he will run a very good race,” said his driver Deni Roberts. “I can’t wait for a race and a draw when I can sit him up because I think he will be a really good sat-up horse.”
Also resuming after a spell will be Vegas Strip’s stablemate Thelittle Master, who will be driven by Trent Wheeler from barrier six. “He has been working with Vegas Strip and has been going well,” said Roberts.
Bet The House’s Byford trainer Ron Huston will be looking for a strong first-up showing from the gelding, who will start from barrier five with Chris Voak in the sulky. Bet The House has been most impressive, winning at five of his first eight starts.
Bet The House showed that he is ready for a spirited effort when he won a four-horse 2185m trial at Pinjarra on Wednesday of last week. From barrier four he was not pushed at the start and settled three back on the pegs before Voak dashed him forward after 500m to take the lead and then coast home to an easy win from Jimmy Rocks, rating 1.58 after final 400m sections of 28.7sec. and 27.5sec.
New Zealand-bred pacer Lusaka is remarkably consistent and is developing into a serious candidate for the rich feature events for four-year-olds later this year, with his brilliant driver Deni Roberts declaring: “He is absolutely airborne.”
Lusaka, trained by Greg and Skye Bond, faces a stern test when he starts from the outside barrier (No. 3) on the back line in the 2130m Vale Wilf Powell Pace.
“Hopefully, he doesn’t get shuffled back too far,” said Roberts. “If he’s close enough, he’s a winning chance.”
Lusaka has had 29 starts for 14 wins, seven seconds and three thirds. He was most impressive at his latest start when he began from the outside in the field of seven and raced in sixth position while Rockmyster was setting a brisk pace. He was switched three wide 250m from home and went five wide on the home turn --- and was fifth at the 100m mark before surging home to finish second, a head behind Rockmyster, who rated 1.57 over the 2130m journey.
Rockmyster again looms as serious threat this week when he will begin out wide at barrier eight. “He is racing in good form, but this is a nice field, and he has a tricky draw,” said trainer-reinsman Dylan Egerton-Green.
Lake Pichola out to repeat the dose
Smart two-year-old gelding Lake Pichola made a splendid debut when a winner at Pinjarra three Mondays ago, and he will be out to repeat the dose when he begins from barrier four in the Nova Nation’s Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Trained by Ron Huston and driven by Chris Voak, Lake Pichola impressed at Pinjarra when he settled down in sixth position in the field of eight and began a three-wide move 400m from home and sprinted fast to get up in the final stride to beat Im Massimo, who had sat behind the pacemaker Lazarus Star and made use of the sprint lane to take the lead 75m from the post. The winner rated 1.59.7 over 2185m.
A week later the Justin Prentice-trained Im Massimo set the pace from the No. 1 barrier and dashed over the final quarters in 28.1sec. and 27.5sec. to win easily from Captain Said So over 1684m at Pinjarra.
Lake Pichola and Im Massimo will clash with winners By Gee By Jingo, Captain Stirling, Captain Said So, Mysta Moon Walker and Louie Vee.
Captain Stirling, trained and driven by Dylan Egerton-Green, will begin from the No. 3 barrier and will have admirers after two seconds and a last-start victory by three lengths over Formel over 1684m at Pinjarra. “He has led at his past two starts, and I didn’t think that was his go,” said Egerton-Green.
Deni Roberts will drive By Gee By Jingo for trainers Greg and Skye Bond. The American Ideal gelding finished solidly to win comfortably on debut over 2130m at Kellerberrin.
“He is an immature type and is still learning,” said Roberts. “But he has a nice draw (No. 2).”
Roberts is looking forward to driving the Bond-trained three-year-old Ten To The Dozen in the opening event, the 2130m Perth’s Hit Music Station Nova 93.7 Pace in which he will start from barrier two on the back line.
Ten To The Dozen, a winner at eight of his 18 starts, will be resuming after an absence of 14 weeks. All his wins have been when he has set the pace, and the back-line draw will see him in a different role on Friday night.
“It’s unfortunate that he won’t be leading because that is where he does his best work,” said Roberts. “And this will be his first race outside his age group when he will be racing against older and more experienced horses.
“I’ll have to drive him the way the race pans out. He is working well and should be there at the finish.”
Captain Bligh, Bellezza Nera and the polemarker Star Of Willoughby, an all-the-way winner last Friday night, should provide Ten To The Dozen with solid opposition.
Trainer-reinsman Dylan Egerton-Green said he expected a strong performance from six-year-old Bellezza Nera, who will start from the No. 4 barrier on the front line. “He is racing well and has been running home strongly,” said Egerton-Green. “Hopefully, his turn of foot will help him. He’s a good chance.”
