Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Brilliant mare Steno is poised to win the $50,000 group 3 Laurie Kennedy Free-For-All over 1730m at Gloucester Park on Friday night for the second year in a row when she resumes racing after a seven-week absence.
Steno, who will be making her first appearance as a six-year-old, will start from barrier four and her trainer Jocelyn Young is sure to take full advantage of the mare’s dazzling gate speed in a bid for the early lead.
At her most recent appearance Steno revealed explosive gate speed from out wide at barrier eight to burst to the front after 60m on her way to setting the pace and winning the group 3 Christmas Belles over 2130m on December 20. She reeled off her final three 400m sections in 27.9sec., 27.7sec. and 29sec. and won by just over a half-length from Penny Black, rating 1.55.
She won the Laurie Kennedy event 12 months ago when she led from barrier three and beat Cyclone Charlotte by 5m, rating 1.51.9 over 1730m.
Steno, a winner at 22 of her 47 starts, will clash with Water Lou, who will begin out wide at barrier seven at her first appearance for four months. Water Lou, to be driven by Shannon Suvaljko for trainer Mike Reed, will be having her first start as a four-year-old. She has already amassed $422,979 in stakemoney from 21 wins and two seconds from 28 starts.
“She is used to drawing out wide,” said Reed. “Her work has been good and whatever she does this week she will improve on.”
Water Lou impressed in winning a 2185m trial at Pinjarra on Wednesday of last week when she was not bustled at the start before Suvaljko sent her to the front after 250m. She travelled smoothly in the lead and dashed over the final quarters in 28.2sec. and 27.4sec. to win by a length from Wonderful To Fly, who finished strongly after racing in last position in the four-horse Indian file affair.
Wonderful To Fly, trained and driven by Shane Young, will start from the No. 2 barrier on Friday night and she looks set for a powerful showing at her first outing for two months.
Suvaljko said that he was delighted with Water Lou’s trackwork and her trial win, and he expects her to run a big race, first-up.
“It’s hard out wide over a mile, but this will be a good test for her,” he said. “I didn’t let her go in the trial and she won with the ear plugs in and I didn’t turn the whip. She has been beating everything easily in trackwork when she beats Hoppys Way and Blitzembye by five or six lengths. She has led and won a lot of races, but she is better sitting up.”
Reed has a good second-string runner in Friday night’s race in Montana Glory, who will be driven for the first time by Aiden De Campo from barrier five. Montana Glory had a tough run in the breeze before winning easily from Regal Cheval at a 1.57.5 rate over 2130m last Friday night.
Kyle Symington has been engaged to drive Peaceful, a stablemate of Steno, who is favourably drawn at the No. 1 barrier.