Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Fears that brilliant pacer Ten To The Dozen would be unable to contest the $400,000 APG Gold Bullion final for two-year-old colts and geldings at Menangle on Saturday night have been allayed, and champion WA trainers Greg and Skye Bond are thrilled that their colt will be able to run in the big race.
Earlier in the week the Bonds were informed that because of extra freight there would be insufficient room for Ten To The Dozen to travel by plane to Sydney on Wednesday night.
But that problem has been solved and Ten To The Dozen, a brilliant winner at his past four starts, has drawn favourably at barrier three in the rich Sydney feature in which he will be driven by star Sydney reinsman Luke McCarthy.
Because of the grave doubt about Ten To The Dozen being able to fly to Sydney, he was also an acceptor for the $50,000 Allwood Stud Farm Champagne Classic at Gloucester Park on Friday night. His scratching from that race has resulted in the emergency runner, his stablemate Prince Of Pain gaining a start and will be driven by Deni Roberts.
A win by Ten To The Dozen in Sydney could be extremely significant — it could well give the Bonds plenty to celebrate in achieving a memorable milestone, the 2000TH winner for the training partnership.
When Roberts drove Sista Sammy to a superb all-the-way victory in a 2130m event at Gloucester Park on Tuesday evening it gave the Bond training partnership its sixth winner from its past seven starters. It also took the combination’s training record to 1998 wins from 8134 starters — a remarkable average of 25 per cent winners — to go with 2247 placegetters at an average of 28 per cent.
The Bonds have high hopes of chalking up winner No. 1999 with smart three-year-old Fess Up in the opening event on Friday night, the 2130m Allwood Stud Devoted To Breeding Excellence Pace. Fess Up, who will be driven by Roberts from barrier five, has resumed after a spell in fine style with three easy wins from three starts over the past month.
Apart from Fess Up, the Bonds also will be looking for strong efforts from Jett Star and stablemate Roll Up in race eight. Jett Star, who has finished second at his past two outings, is perfectly drawn at barrier No. 1 and should provide strong opposition for El Chema, Faster Than Dad and Ima Fivestar General.
The Bonds, who have won 16 Group 1 events, 31 Group 2 features and 35 at Group 3 level, have made a flying start to the 2023 season, and with 61 winners and 51 placegetters from 191 starters, they hold a lead of 30 over Michael Young on the trainers’ premiership table.
In the APG WA Gold Bullion final last Friday night Ten To The Dozen charged straight to the front from the outside barrier in the field of four and gave a superb frontrunning performance to win by a length and a half from Manhattan Moon, who trailed him all the way. The final 400m was covered in a sparkling 27.1sec.
Manhattan Moon, trained by Justin Prentice, will start from barrier three on Friday night and should again be prominent. Gary Hall Jnr has given punters an important lead by choosing to drive Manhattan Moon in preference to Byford trainer Ron Huston’s promising gelding Rocknroll Train, who will start from the No. 2 barrier, with his stablemate Bet The House at barrier one.
Hall drove Rocknroll Train at his debut at Pinjarra on Monday of last week when the gelding began speedily from barrier four, dashed to the front after 70m and then set a solid pace and won narrowly from the fast-finishing I Cross My Heart, with a final quarter of 27.4sec.
Rocknroll Train will be driven by Shannon Suvaljko on Friday night, and Huston has engaged Chris Lewis to handle Bet The House.
Fess Up finished powerfully from the rear to win, first-up, over 2185m at Pinjarra before leading and winning at Pinjarra and Gloucester Park at his next two starts. His clash with the likely pacemaker Sorridere, Im The Black Flash and Star Lavra should provide much excitement.
Capel trainer-reinsman Aiden De Campo has Sorridere in peak form. He led and won by almost three lengths from Slamma Alabama over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Tuesday of last week. That followed sound seconds to Mister Ridgewell at Bunbury and Fess Up at Pinjarra at his two previous outings.
Hall of Fame trainer Gary Hall Snr holds a good hand, with Im The Black Flash (Hall Jnr) and Star Lavra (Stuart McDonald) likely to make strong bids for victory.
Im The Black Flash, who will start from the outside in the field of six, started from the back line and was sixth early before finishing strongly from the one-out, one-back position to win by four lengths from Allwood Mach over 2100m at Bunbury on Wednesday of last week. That was his fourth win from eight starts.
Star Lavra followed strong wins at Gloucester Park with a close second to the frontrunning Rocket City last Friday night when he had a tough run in the breeze.
Ten To The Dozen is certain to meet with plenty of opposition on Saturday night, with the Emma Stewart-trained Stormryder a leading hope after effortless wins at his two race starts — by 12 lengths at Maryborough on April 10 and by four lengths at Melton a week later when he dashed over the final 400m in 27.1sec. and rated 1.56.7 over 1720m.
Other leading candidates include Soho Spectre (bred and owned by West Australian Rob Watson) who has won at four of his five starts, and Ravishing Sloy, a winner at two of his four starts, including a victory at a 1.55.1 rate at Menangle.