Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Veteran trainer Murray Lindau has freshened up eight-year-old Talks Up A Storm, and he is confident the WA-bred gelding will end a losing sequence of twelve when he begins from the No. 2 barrier in the $25,000 Hoist Solutions Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Lindau has engaged Dylan Egerton-Green to drive Talks Up A Storm in a race for the first time for 38 months — after the talented reinsman had driven the pacer to his first nine victories between 2020 and 2022.
“His work today (Tuesday) was very good,” said Lindau. “This is a drop in class and we will be out to set the pace. And if he finds the front he should find it a bit easier than he has done against stronger opposition recently.”
Talks Up A Storm met stronger opposition at his latest start when he was the $2.35 favourite from the No. 1 barrier in the $31,000 Media Cup over 2130m three Fridays ago and set a fast pace before wilting to finish seventh, just one and a half lengths from the winner Star Casino.
Talks Up A Storm will need to be on song to beat last-start winners Minos and Thelittle Master as well as the speedy Maximum Rock.
Trainer-reinsman Lindsay Harper is delighted at the way Minos has performed since entering his stable. The lightly-raced five-year-old has won at two of his first three appearances in WA. He began from the outside barrier on the front line last Friday night when he raced wide early and then travelled well in the breeze outside the pacemaker Champagne Everyone before taking the lead on the home turn and beating Kurious Boy by a length, rating 1.57 over 2130m after sparkling final quarters of 27.8sec. and 27.6sec.
Thelittle Master, prepared by Greg and Skye Bond, unwound a spirited finishing burst to win a heat and the final of the 1730m Nights Of Thunder in the second half of January. Thelittle Master, to be driven by Deni Roberts, will need to overcome the disadvantage of starting from the outside barrier (No. 9) on the front line, while Minos will also start out wide, at barrier eight.