Ken Casellas | Photo: Gloucester Park Harness Racing
WA-bred five-year-old Twobob Cracker has a losing sequence of 15, but star reinsman Shannon Suvaljko did not hesitate when declaring the Art Major gelding is his best winning chance at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Twobob Cracker, part-owned and trained by Glenn Elliott, will start from the No. 1 barrier in the Celebrating Jimmy Glennie’s 60TH Pace, a mobile event over the 1730m sprint trip, and Suvaljko is planning an all-the-way victory with the pacer whose past eight wins have been in standing-start races.
“He has huge gate and should be able to lead and hold out fast beginner Valbonne from barrier seven,” said Suvaljko. “I don’t think he will get beaten. Overlook his last-start eighth (behind Talks Up a Storm last Friday night) when he got caught in the breeze.
“At his previous start he came from near the rear to finish third (behind Know When To Run). He is a good rolling horse who loves the mile.”
Suvaljko, who is leading the 2023 drivers’ premiership table with 33 winners, also fancies Ragazzo Mach (race three) and suggests that Onesmartfella (race two), Cabsav (race eight) and Acoltnamedsu (race nine) have each-way prospects.
Another driver who is sure to be popular with punters is Deni Roberts, whose best winning prospects are expected to be Steel The Show (race two), Minstrel (race four), Street Hawk (race five) and Dont Bother Me None (race six).
The New Zealand-bred Steel The Show will be strongly fancied from barrier No. 3 in the 1730m Brett De Campo Pace, following his effortless victory at his Australian debut when he sped to the front from barrier five and sprinted over the final 800m in 56.3sec. to beat Mister Ardee by two lengths at a 1.57.4 rate over 2130m.
That performance followed his previous outing, two months earlier, when he ran on determinedly to finish second to the dual New Zealand Cup winner Copy That (a winner of 31 races and $1.5 million in prizemoney) in a 1609m event at Alexandra Park.
Dont Bother Me None will start from barrier four in the 2130m Remembering Blake Live For Me Pace in which he will be tested by the speedy frontrunning pacer Pradason, who led and won from James Butt over 2130m two starts ago before leading and wilting to fifth behind Valentine Brook over 2130m last Friday night.
Dont Bother Me None returned to form last week when he raced wide early (from barrier five) and then in the breeze before taking the lead 400m from home and winning by just under five lengths from My Prayer at a 1.55.8 rate over 2130m, with final quarters of 28.6sec. and 28.3sec.