Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Leg problems have hampered the career of five-year-old The Ideal Touch, who reappeared after an absence of eight months when he lined up at barrier No. 6 in the 2130m Black Irish Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Produced in fine fettle by champion trainer Gary Hall Snr, The Ideal Touch scored an impressive first-up victory and looks set for a profitable campaign.
The Ideal Touch, third favourite at $5.20, moved to the breeze soon after the start before gaining the favourable one-out, one-back trail and then finishing strongly to win by a head from the pacemaker and $3 favourite Jaspervellabeach, with $3.80 chance Pocket The Cash finishing third after enjoying the trail behind the leader all the way.
The Ideal Touch, a big rangy pacer, was driven by Stuart McDonald, with Gary Hall Jnr choosing to handle last-start winner Euphoria, a $12 chance from the outside barrier in the field of nine.
Euphoria surged forward to race in the breeze after 500m, and he wilted to finish in fifth place.
McDonald said that everything fell perfectly into place for him after The Ideal Touch settled in the breeze soon after the start before gaining an ideal passage, in the one-out, one-back position.
“I expected that there would have been a lot of early speed,” said McDonald. “But Jaspervellabeach crossed quite quickly which took the early speed out of the race. So, I decided to work forward, and Junior (Gary Hall Jnr) had the same plan as me. Things worked out well for me, getting to the breeze first and then getting the one-one spot.
“There wasn’t a lot of pressure early, and it was just a matter whether we could catch the leader.” The Ideal Touch started a three-wide move 400m from home and took a narrow lead with 50m to travel.
The Ideal Touch won once from four New Zealand starts, and he now has raced just 24 times for nine wins, seven placings and $97,468 in prizemoney. He is by American Ideal and is the fourth foal out of the Mach Three mare Touch Of Rose, who raced 43 times for four wins, 13 placings and $69,756.