Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Superstar pacer Magnificent Storm is racing in such dazzling form that he has bright prospects of setting a race record when he looks certain to prove the master of his five rivals in the $50,000 Catalano Truck And Equipment Village Kid Sprint at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The New Zealand-bred six-year-old has drawn perfectly at barrier two and Dylan Egerton-Green should have no trouble at winning the start and setting the pace in the Group 3 feature event over 1730m.
Bletchley Park set the race record when he rated 1.52.4 in beating Vultan Tin and Cant Refuse in January 2021.
Magnificent Storm led from barrier five and rated 1.53.9 when he won the Village Kid Sprint from Hampton Banner and Diego 12 months ago. He has won at each of his past four appearances over 1730m rating 1.53.2 when he beat Gambit and Lavra Joe in the Mount Eden Sprint in October 2022, rating 1.52.9 when he beat Sangue Reale and Hampton Banner in May this year, and rating 1.52.5 when he beat Ima Fivestar General and Faster Than Dad in the Members Sprint in June.
Magnificent Storm, trained by Ray Williams, should continue the remarkable record of successful frontrunners in the Village Kid Sprint. The leader has won the past nine Village Kid Sprints.
Beaudeine Boaz (trained by Gary Hall Snr and driven by Gary Hall Jnr) is the only pacer to have won the Village Kid Sprint twice. He was successful on January 1, 2016, and on December 30, 2016.
Before 2012 the Village Kid Sprint was known as the Celebrity Sprint, and the only dual winners of that event were Shattering Class (1998 and 2002) and Lookslikelightning (2005 and 2006).
Magnificent Storm warmed up for this week’s race in superb style in the Pat Cranley Memorial last Friday night when he burst to the front after 100m and coasted through the opening quarters in 31sec. and 29.7sec. before dashing over the final 400m sections in 28.6sec. and 26.7sec.
Arma Einstein, who trailed Magnificent Storm all the way last week and finished second, will start from barrier three on Friday night and he and Wildwest will be favoured to fill the placings behind Magnificent Storm this week.
Wildwest (barrier four) impressed last Friday week when he began from the No. 3 barrier and enjoyed an ideal passage in the one-out, two-back position before sprinting home strongly to win comfortably over Blitzembye, rating 1.55.4 over 2130m.