Ken Casellas | Photo: HAMILTON CONTENT CREATORS
Champion reinsman Gary Hall Jnr notched his 100TH winner for the season when he drove Pasquale to an easy victory in a 2130m event at Gloucester Park on Tuesday night — thus recording a remarkable achievement of a century of winners in 20 consecutive years.
He will have a drive in six of the nine events at Gloucester Park on Friday night before flying out of Perth on Saturday morning to drive star four-year-old Never Ending in race two at Menangle in the evening.
With trainer Michel Young having four runners in the Sky Racing Listen Live Pace, Hall gave punters a strong tip by choosing to handle the polemarker Ideal Tomado ahead of the seven-year-old’s younger stablemates Let It Linga, My Ultimate Chevron and Lamandier.
“Ideal Tomado looks my best drive on the night,” said Hall. “He is a very good frontrunner who should lead and go very close. Last week he got shuffled back and finished eighth in the Marathon.”
Let It Linga, who has been placed at four of her past six starts, will be driven by Stuart McDonald from barrier three; Deni Roberts will handle My Ultimate Chevron (unplaced at his first two runs after a spell) from barrier four, and Maddison Brown will drive Lamandier, a strong-finishing winner over Dark Eyes two starts ago, from the No. 6 barrier.
The class runner in Friday night’s event is the Murray Lindau-trained Beyond The Sea, who will be driven by Kyle Harper from barrier five. Beyond The Sea reappeared after a five-week absence last Friday night when she improved from 11TH and last at the bell to finish fourth behind Sovrana.
Sovrana, who surged home from eighth at the bell to win by a neck from Goodealehmaddie over 2130m last week, has strong claims in the Final Bridge Bar This Sunday Pace this week when she will begin from barrier three for trainer-reinsman Aiden De Campo.
Sovrana’s chief rivals appear to be Coney Island Lou, Solesseo Matuca, Paul Edward and Elwaddell.
Elwaddell impressed last Friday night when he was third on the pegs at the bell and ran home powerfully to win from Lucapelo and Crowd Control, rating 1.55.1 over 1730m.
“Elwaddell is up in class, but No. 1 will suit him,” said Harper.