Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Victorian-bred pacer Mirragon overcame a wide barrier and covering extra ground early before finishing strongly to win the 21340m Bridge Bar Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The six-year-old, trained by Debra Lewis and driven by her husband Chris, was overlooked by most punters and was a $13.80 chance and even better value at $19 on the fixed market.
Lewis got the gelding away smartly from the No. 7 barrier and he raced three wide for the first 270m and then outside the pacemaker and $1.24 favourite Talks Up A Storm for the next 300m before gaining a perfect passage in the one-out, one-back position.
Lewis bided his time before switching Mirragon three wide approaching the home turn. The gelding then sprinted strongly to burst to the front in the final 50m on his way to beating $61 chance Hengheng by a neck. Socrates ($4.80) was an unlucky third after being blocked for a run until the final stages.
Mirragon, a winner of seven races in Victoria, has been a consistent performer in WA, with his 49 starts in the State producing ten wins and 13 placings. His career record stands at 82 starts for 17 wins, 23 placings and $272,675.