Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Champion trainer Gary Hall Snr looks set to dominate the final event at Gloucester Park on Friday night when he will be represented by four of the six runners in the 2130m event for three-year-olds.
Gary Hall Jnr has given punters a good lead by choosing to drive Im The Black Flash in preference to stablemates Franco Mecca, Hes Never Been Beta and Star Lavra.
However, Hall said that this was a particularly strong field, and that the Murray Lindau-trained Hotly Pursued and Aiden De Campo’s Magnus Victor could not be underestimated.
Im The Black Flash put up a remarkable performance to win easily over 2100m at Bunbury last Saturday. The New Zealand-bred colt raced three back on the pegs and was travelling smoothly in the one-wide line 700m from home when he locked sulky wheels with another runner and was almost brought to a standstill.
He lost about eight lengths before the sulky wheels were disentangled, and he then sprinted fast to dash to the front in the final 100m and go on and win by eight and a half lengths from Souffle.
“I didn’t think I could win when I was locked up; my wheel had stopped and was about a foot off the ground,” said Hall. “But once we got unlocked I thought we could win, particularly because it wasn’t a strong field.”
Earlier in the program Hall drove Franco Mecca, who was untroubled to set the pace from barrier one and win comfortably from Sweet Ivy over 2100m. Hall also drove Hes Never Been Beta when he led from barrier four and beat Star Lavra and Hotly Pursued over 2130m at Gloucester Park last Friday week.
“Franco Mecca will keep getting better, and Hes Never Been Beta is a nice horse,” said Hall. “There is not a lot between Franco Mecca and Star Lavra, but I reckon that Im The Black Flash has got a little bit on them. However, Star Lavra has been working better and better and should prove to be hard to beat.”
Star Lavra will be drive by Stuart McDonald, and should lead from barrier one and prove hard to catch. He has yet to win but his last-start second to Hes Never Been Beta was full of merit.
Maddison Brown will drive Hes Never Been Beta from barrier four in a race in which speedy geldings Hotly Pursued (Kyle Harper, barrier three) and Magnus Victor (barrier six) are sure to make their presence felt.
Hall Jnr has sound each-way prospects with Lamandier, who will begin from the No. 2 barrier on the front line in the DTS Web — www.DTSWA.com.au Handicap, a 2503m stand.
Lamandier, a five-year-old trained by Michael Young, has won three times in Victoria and three times in Queensland, and he broke through at his sixth start in WA when he made a successful debut in a standing-start event at Pinjarra on Monday afternoon.
He began smoothly from the 109m mark, settled in fourth position and then surged to the front after 450m before going on to score easily from Goodonya Mate after covering the final 800m in 56.6sec.
“Lamandier got away well from a stand at Pinjarra,” said Hall. “That was when he was following horses at the start. It might be a bit different off the front on Friday night. But if he leads, he will be a very good chance.”
Young was more confident, saying: “If he steps, he will win. He was very good at Pinjarra. He has always shown me a lot at home but has never produced it at the races until yesterday (Monday) at Pinjarra when it was the first time he has taken his home work to the races.”
Young and Hall will also team up when Kimble contests the 2130m DTS Farmlock Fence Pace in which he is favourably drawn at barrier No. 2. Kimble warmed up for this assignment with an easy all-the-way victory in a 2130m event in which he sped over the final 400m in 27.5sec.