Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
A perfect barrier at No. 2 should enable OK Boomer to set the pace and prove very hard to beat in the $50,000 group 3 Nova Four-Year-Old Championship over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The New Zealand-bred OK Boomer, part-owned, trained and driven by Lindsay Harper, should cross his stablemate Chivalry at barrier one and then dictate terms in front.
OK Boomer showed his ability as a frontrunner two starts ago when he led from the No. 3 barrier and dashed over the final 400m sections in 28.8sec. and 27.2sec. to win by a half-length from up-and-coming star Gee Heza Sport, rating 1.56.7 over 2130m at Gloucester Park.
Then, at his next outing last Friday week OK Boomer began from the outside barrier in a field of nine and raced in sixth position, one-out and two-back, when he was inclined to overrace and still fought on, out three wide, to finish third behind Soho Seraphine and The Miki Taker.
In an even field on Friday night the Greg and Skye Bond-trained Lusaka, to be driven by Deni Roberts, should enjoy an ideal passage, three back on the pegs, after starting from the inside of the back line at his second outing after a brief spell.
Lusaka, a winner at 14 of his 32 starts, resumed racing when he began from the back line in the $35,000 Pinjarra Four-Year-Old Classic on Monday of last week and was an unlucky fifth behind the pacemaker Sorridere, Im The Black Flash, Skylou and Louie Dior.
Lusaka raced in fifth position, three back on the pegs, and was blocked for a clear run in the final stages.
Sorridere, whose 34 starts have produced 13 wins, eight seconds and four thirds, has returned to racing after a spell in splendid form for trainer-reinsman Aiden De Campo with wins at Gloucester Park and Pinjarra.
“It is an even field on Friday night,” said De Campo. “Sorridere is a good horse to have in these kind of races. He is quite versatile and can do work at both ends. Five is an awkward draw, and there is plenty of speed on his inside.”
Gary Hall Jnr drove Im The Black Flash in the Pinjarra classic in which he trailed the pacemaking Sorridere and was beaten by a head.
“He should have won at Pinjarra,” said Hall. “He didn’t know what to do with the sprint lane, and it took the length of the straight to get there.”
Hall has chosen to drive Skylou from the outside of the front line (barrier nine), and Stuart McDonald will handle Im The Black Flash from his handy draw at No. 3.
Skylou, trained by Gary Hall Snr, notched his ninth win from 18 starts when he began from barrier five and took the lead after 400m before setting a solid pace and winning by more than two lengths from Street Hawk, rating a smart 1.54.8 over 2130m last Friday night.
The Annie Belton-trained Louie Dior impressed when he finished fast out four wide to be an eye-catching fourth in the Pinjarra classic. A winner at eight of his 15 starts, he will be handled by Kyle Symington.
Skylord, with an excellent record of 30 starts for eleven wins and ten placings, will begin out wide from the No. 7 barrier, with part-owner, trainer and driver Jocelyn Young saying: “We will drive for luck as a sit-sprinter.
“I haven’t been overly happy with his past two runs (seventh to To Fast To Serious and sixth behind Sorridere at Gloucester Park three Fridays ago) and I’ve been battling with a foot problem.”