Ken Casellas | Race Replay
Victorian-bred five-year-old Chasing Rex completed his sojourn in Western Australia with a strong win in the $21,000 Bernard and Jacinta Tie The Knot Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“Chasing Rex and his stablemate Better Eclipse are due to leave for Sydney on Sunday,” said the Betting Line gelding’s trainer-reinsman Gary Hall Jnr.
Both pacers performed soundly in WA, with Chasing Rex having eleven starts for two wins, three placings and $37,189, and eight-year-old Better Eclipse earning $63,772 from one win, five seconds and one third from 14 starts.
Chasing Rex, the $3.80 favourite from out wide at barrier seven, settled down in eighth position before moving to the breeze outside the pacemaker Lillie Queen ($5.50) in the middle stages. Chasing Rex hit the front with 90m to travel and beat Lillie Queen by a length and a half, rating 1.57.1 after final quarters of 29.1sec. and 28.9sec.
“I was happy with the way he was travelling on the bend when I didn’t want to put his head in front too early,” said Hall. “I felt that I had the leader covered, but sometimes when you hold them up, they don’t want to go when you want them to go.”
Chasing Rex’s victory gave Hall his third winner in the first three events, following the successes of Delightful Peg and A Little Silence in the first two events. Both those New Zealand-bred pacers are prepared by Gary Hall Snr.
“Delightful Peg was impressive,” said Hall Jnr. Four-year-old Delightful Peg, who had won at her Australian debut, at Gloucester Park three days earlier, was the youngest runner in Friday night’s 2130m event which was restricted to mares.
She was the $1.60 favourite who raced three wide for the first 550m before moving to the breeze outside the pacemaker Vinita Rose ($7.50) and getting to the front 200m from home and winning by a half-neck from $21 chance Starlight Dream. The winner rated 1.56.6.
“I was not unhappy to be in the breeze,” said Hall Jnr. “On what she has done at home she is quite tough, so I wasn’t worried about being there.”
Delightful Peg is by Bettors Delight and is the fifth foal out of Live Or Die mare Elite Medley, who was retired after one win in a minor event from five starts in New Zealand. Delightful Peg has earned $75,580 from five wins and three placings from 22 starts.
Five-year-old A Little Silence was the $1.50 favourite from the outside barrier in the field of nine in the 1730m Tickets On Sale for TABtouch Nullarbor Pace, in which he was making his first appearance for 33 months.
He simply proved vastly superior to his rivals, coming from last in the middle stages to get to the front with 430m to travel and racing away to beat $8 chance Bazaar Package, who battled on doggedly after racing without cover. The winner rated a smart 1.55.2 after the polemarker Mikipelo had sprinted over the opening 400m section in 27.7sec. The pace then slackened with quarters of 29.4sec., 29.5sec. and 29.5sec.
“It is never easy first-up when a horse has been out for such a long time,” said Hall Jnr. A Little Silence has had plenty of injuries since he arrived in WA in August 2023. Finally, he has recovered after being laid low three times by damaged tendons.
A Little Silence showed tremendous promise when he raced twice in New Zealand as a two-year-old, finishing a close second in Group 2 events at Addington and Ashburton. He is by American sire Downbytheseaside and is the first foal out of the unraced Sportswriter mare So Many Words.