Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
El Casanova, an extremely handsome five-year-old, captured the imagination with the sublime brilliance of his effortless all-the-way victory in the 2130m Team Bond Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
This was his third win from three starts in his current campaign — after an eleven-month injury-enforced absence.
But he pulled up lame in the off fore tendon, and he left the course with the leg heavily bandaged.
“He has gone again,” said disappointed trainer Garry Sayers. “This has been the problem throughout his career, just above the fetlock. Robbie Williams had him, and he broke down, and then Michael Grantham had him and he broke down twice more.
“Shannon (driver Shannon Suvaljko) said he felt him ‘go’ in the back straight in the final lap. The horse is very sore, and we will not know the extent of the injury until we get the results of the scans we will have taken of the leg.”
El Casanova’s latest injury comes as a great disappointment. He has shown outstanding ability in his brief career of eleven starts for eight wins and two second placings.
He is by former star New Zealand pacer Terror To Love (74 starts for 31 wins, 22 placings and $2,368,354) and is the third foal out of the unraced Art Major mare Bellagio Lover, the dam of promising mare Bologna, who has won at two of her first four starts, including a debut victory at Addington in August this year and a last-start success at Ashburton on September 3.
Montefalco, a half-brother of El Casanova, had five starts as a three-year-old in New Zealand in 2019 for three wins and a second before continuing his career in America.
Kamwood Cully, the dam of Bellagio Lover, earned $159,838 from four wins and six placings from 24 starts. As a three-year-old Kamwood Cully won three races, including a group 1 fillies classic and a listed classic at Alexandra Park.
El Casanova’s win gave 63-year-old Northam trainer Garry Sayers the first leg of a double — his first at Gloucester Park.
“I’m president of the Golden Mile Trotting Club (which has not held a meeting since 2018),” he said. “I have lived in Kalgoorlie all my life, and my brother Robert and I became involved in training horses as teenagers.
“I have always had a few horses in Kalgoorlie, mainly cast-offs. I live in Kalgoorlie, and I work my pacers there until they are ready to race in the city. I then move to Northam with the horses and stay at a mate’s place just across the road to the Northam track. I stay at Northam for about four months until my horses finish their campaigns.”
Sayers, who drove many winners on country tracks (mainly at Kalgoorlie), retired after he was knocked out in a race fall at Northam in April 2021. He and Suvaljko, his cousin, completed a double on Friday night when Seeryanfly won the ninth event on the program.
Suvaljko maintained his winning form at Kellerberrin on Sunday when he drove six winners — Miss Shahja, Rockability, Path Of Gold, Krakka Lightning, Amazing American and Caruba.