Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Talented driver Jocelyn Young and veteran pacer Pierre Whitby have formed a highly successful partnership over the past four years, and Young notched her 16TH win with the Mach Three gelding when he surged home from ninth at the bell to win the RAC Members Save 5% Every Day At Retravision Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
And owner Mark Lewis certainly has no regrets about his decision to buy Pierre Whitby for $7500 in April 2019 after he had been unplaced at his first six starts.
Pierre Whitby, trained by Lewis’s mother Debra, has amassed $188,122 in stakes from 18 wins and 38 placings from 131 starts for Debra Lewis and her son.
Pierre Whitby has inherited much of the staying ability of his dam Party Date, a winner of 25 races and $256,003 in prizemoney in an illustrious career in which a highlight was her victory in the 2005 Easter Cup over 2907m at Gloucester Park. Eleven of Pierre Whitby’s 18 wins have been over distances between 2536m and 2692m.
Party Date is the dam of nine winners, including Bettor Party (225 starts for 40 wins, 55 placings and $351,417), Rocknroll Whitby (199 starts for 21 wins, 29 placings and $256,441) and current three-year-old Flametree (ten starts for five wins, three placings and $93,400).
“The distance of tonight’s race (2536m) and the way the race was run suited him down to the ground,” said Young.
The fast pace certainly made Pierre Whitby’s task much easier. The first three quarters of the final mile were run in 29.8sec., 28.9sec. and 28.5sec. before the final 400m took 30.7sec. James Butt, the $1.85 favourite at his first appearance for three months, set the pace, with Manning ($4.60) working hard in the breeze.
Pierre Whitby sustained a spirited three-wide burst and went four wide on the home turn before hitting the front 65m from home and winning by a half-neck from The Kraken ($21), with Walsh ($10) coming from last in the middle stages to be third, just ahead of James Butt.
Pierre Whitby’s win came three days after Mark Lewis won a race at Gloucester Park with ten-year-old New South Wales-bred gelding Athabascan, a pacer purchased by Lewis for $5000 a few years ago. Athabascan, trained by Debra Lewis, has had 70 starts for the Lewis family for eight wins, 15 placings and $99,920 in stakes.