Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Veteran trotter Chumani, beaten into second place by Patched at Pinjarra on Monday afternoon, turned the tables on fellow eight-year-old when he proved too strong for his rival in the $21,000 Westside Auto 4WD Specialists Free-For-All at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Patched was all the rage as the $1.38 favourite, with Chumani the $4.20 second fancy in the 2130m mobile event.
Wonnerup owner-trainer Terry Ferguson engaged Gary Hall Jnr to handle Chumani after the gelding’s regular reinsman Chris Voak had opted to drive at the Bunbury meeting on Friday night, and Hall took his record with Chumani to three drives for two wins and a second placing from three drives.
Majestic Courtney ($41) set the pace, with Hall content to rate Chumani in the breeze, while Patched, the solitary runner on the back line, enjoyed a perfect sit in the one-out, one-back position, behind Chumani.
Chumani got to the front 350m from home, and he held on to defeat Patched by 2m to improve his record to 87 starts for 16 wins, 31 placings and $161,494, quite a remarkable effort for a horse who was bred to be a pacer.
Chumani is by champion pacing sire Bettors Delight and is the first foal out of Storm Cat, a pacer who had 18 starts in WA for four seconds and one third placing. Storm Cat’s next four foals were pacers, with Syncopation winning once (at Pinjarra) from 46 starts, and Scuttlebutt winning twice (at Pinjarra and Bunbury) from 19 starts.
Storm Cat is a half-sister to seven winners (all pacers), including The Storm Inside (19 starts for 16 wins, two placings and $311,125) and Firestorm (175 starts for 25 wins, 41 placings and $307,297).
The Storm Inside’s victories included the Group 1 APG feature for two-year-old colts and geldings at Melton in April 2016, the Group 2 Fitzpatrick Memorial at Menangle in February 2016, and the Group 3 Alabar Vicbred Platinum at Melton in October 2019.