Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Unbeaten colt Waverider looks set to maintain his perfect form by leading and proving too fast for his eleven rivals in the $100,000 Hoist Torque Australia Pearl Classic for two-year-olds at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The Ryan Bell-trained Waverider has drawn perfectly at the No. 1 barrier in the group 2 feature event over 2130m, and Kyle Symington will be aiming for an all-the-way victory with the exciting young pacer who has set the pace in all of his four victories.
Waverider was most impressive in winning his Pearl qualifying heat on Tuesday of last week when his gross time of 2min. 34.5sec. was significantly superior to the times of the other heat winners, Ten To The Dozen (2min. 36.6sec.) and Thelittle Master (2min. 38.4sec.).
“Kyle said that Waverider felt awesome,” said Bell. “Waverider is getting more and more mature and professional, and he does only what he has to. Kyle said that every time a horse got near his wheel, he grabbed the bit and wanted to go.”
Bell is hoping for a better result than when he trained and drove Shockwave in the Pearl Classic in June 2018 when that pacer started out wide at barrier seven, settled down in tenth position and surged home powerfully from seventh at the 500m to finish second to the hot favourite Franco Edward, who started from barrier one and set a fast pace.
Symington drove the Bell-trained Lucapelo, a $34 outsider from barrier one in the Pearl last August when he trailed the hot favourite Never Ending and finished fourth to that gelding.
Ten To The Dozen looms large as Waverider’s most serious rival on Friday night. Ten To The Dozen is prepared by champion trainers Greg and Skye Bond, who won the 2020 Pearl with Jett Star.
Ten To The Dozen, to be driven by Deni Roberts, has drawn awkwardly at barrier No. 7. But he started from the same barrier in his qualifying heat in which he began speedily and set the pace before holding on to win by a head from Menemsha after the final 400m was covered in 28.6sec.
It was an excellent performance from Ten To The Dozen at his first appearance since he finished seventh in the Australian final of the Gold Bullion at Menangle on April 29, following splendid wins at his previous four starts in WA.
Mrs Bond said that there were reasons for Ten To The Dozen’s failure in the $400,000 race in Sydney. “It was a bit of a rushed trip,” she said. “He left Perth on the Thursday and flew to Melbourne before travelling by truck to Sydney where he raced on the Saturday night.
“Ten To The Dozen has good gate speed, and we can use it if we need to. He is just as good coming from a sit.”
The Bond stable also has three other runners in the final — Thelittle Master (barrier three; Gary Hall Jnr), Thenu Came Along (four; Mitch Miller) and Golden Lode (six; Stuart McDonald).
Thelittle Master led from barrier five and was an easy winner in his qualifying heat in which he dashed over the final 400m in 28.4sec. and defeated Manhattan Moon by four metres.
“Thelittle Master is a super little horse,” said Mrs Bond. “We say he’s a little motor car; you put him in drive, you put him in reverse, you go left, you go right, and he’s just a lovely horse to drive. He can be really dangerous coming off some hot tempo.”
Bell also is well represented in the final. Apart from Waverider he will be hoping for strong efforts from Franco Encore and Heez A Vibe.
Franco Encore, to be driven by Maddison Brown, is favourably drawn at barrier No. 2, while Heez A Vibe, will be handled by Mitch Miller from barrier two on the back line.
Capel trainer Aiden De Campo will be relying on Grevis and Menemsha. He will drive Menemsha, who will start from the outside of the back line. A winner at one of his eight starts, Menemsha gave a splendid performance in a qualifying heat when he started out wide at barrier eight and came from last early to race without cover for much of the journey when a fighting head second to Ten To The Dozen.
Grevis will be driven by Trent Wheeler, and he will start from the inside of the back line and should enjoy an ideal trip behind the likely pacemaker Waverider.
Trainer-reinsman Dylan Egerton-Green has Cork Can Run in fine form, but the colt faces a tough task from the outside barrier on the front line. His second to Waverider in a heat followed smart wins at Pinjarra and Gloucester Park.