Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
A virtuoso performance in the sulky on a wet and wintry Gloucester Park on Friday night catapulted Gary Hall Jnr into harness racing’s stratosphere as a driver without peer.
When he guided veteran pacer Rock Me Over to victory in the final event the 40-year-old Hall set a significant record, becoming the first West Australian to drive seven winners at a meeting in the State.
And he achieved this marvellous feat with a seven-year-old gelding having his 185TH start in a race — and following a seventh placing, two ninths and two tenths at his five previous starts.
Earlier in the evening Hall had been successful with Kimble, Jumpingjackmac, Tricky Miki, Eighteen Carat, Firerockfireroll and The Mustang. Hall had shared the previous WA record of six winners at a meeting with Morgan Woodley (at Collie in March 2011) and Ryan Warwick (at Kellerberrin in October 2019).
A humble and self-effacing champion, Hall is a true superstar, who had landed six winners on a program on five occasions before he dominated proceedings on Friday night when he had harness racing aficionados gasping with admiration at his remarkable skill, flair and ingenuity in the sulky.
He was cool, calm, composed and calculating as he weaved his magic as he lit up the wet, miserable night with his great skill. Indeed, he drove with the precision of a Swiss watchmaker and with the dash and flair of a Spanish matador.
“I never thought that seven was possible,” he said. “You don’t expect to get that many live chances at a meeting. If you get two, three or four good drives, you’re happy.”
Hall was surprised when trainer Matt Scott nominated him to drive Rock Me Over after the gelding’s regular reinsman Shannon Suvaljko opted to handle Glorafilia. Hall previously drove Rock Me Over 69 starts earlier when he finished tenth behind Carerra Mach in a race at Gloucester Park on January 15, 2021.
He had driven Rock Me Over to victory four times as a two and three-year-old in 2017 and 2018 when the colt was trained by Katja Warwick. He also won a race with Rock Me Over when he was prepared by Scott in January 2020.
Rock Me Over was the $3.10 favourite when he started from barrier two in the 2130m The Nullarbor $1m April 2023 Pace on Friday night. He lacked early sparkle, but Hall was quickly able to manoeuvre him into the one-out, one-back position while $16 chance Name In Lights set the pace.
Hall switched Rock Me Over out three wide 570m from home and sent the gelding to the front at the 400m. Rock Me Over covered the final 400m in 29.6sec. and won by a half-length from the strong-finishing $4.60 chance Tuas Delight, rating 1.58.3.
Hall, who has driven 189 winners this season, does not slavishly adhere to a tactical plan in his races. He relies on getting the ‘feel’ of the race before making his moves. It is this innate skill that makes him a champion.
He is a reasonably harsh self critic and is still working at becoming a better driver. There are still mountains to scale, with Victorian reinsman Mark Pitt driving nine winners on a ten-event program in Launceston in April this year. One of those winners (all of which were trained by Emma Stewart) was Firerockfireroll, who featured in Hall’s feast of winners on Friday night.
Then on July 15 Tasmanian-born Bendigo reinsman Jack Laugher drove seven winners on a 12-event meeting at Mildura. Three men have driven seven winners at a meeting in New Zealand — Doug Watts at Reefton on February 8, 1954, Tony Herlihy at Alexandra Park on October 5, 2001, and Dexter Dunn at Forbury Park on May 8, 2015.