Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Super mare Penny Black was surprisingly beaten by Wonderful To Fly in the Golden Girls Mile over 1684m at Pinjarra on Monday of last week, but her trainer Michael Young is quietly confident the New Zealand-bred six-year-old will make amends by winning the $25,000 $9 Pints Free-For-All for mares over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Penny Black, the $1.40 favourite, raced wide early and then in the breeze before getting to the front when she was overhauled in the final couple of strides and was beaten by a head in the race at Pinjarra.
“I don’t think Penny Black has ever won over a mile,” said Young. “And Wonderful To Fly is a good horse. Penny Black can’t win every week.”
Penny Black, to be driven by Emily Suvalkjko, will begin from the outside barrier in the field of nine and is expected to be seriously challenged by up-and-coming four-year-olds Fakenit and Delightful Peg.
“We don’t know how good Fakenit and Delightful Peg are,” said Young. “I assume Penny Black will be in the breeze outside one of those mares, and they will have to be pretty good (to beat Penny Black).
“We know that Penny Black can run 1.54 and a bit, and we will find out if they can, too.”
Penny Black certainly has the edge in experience over Fakenit and Delightful Peg, having raced 43 times for 18 wins, ten seconds, three thirds and stakes of $438,022, while Fakenit, to be driven by Maddison Brown from barrier four for trainer Gary Hall Snr, has earned $186,763 from five wins and five placings from ten starts, and Delightful Peg, trained and driven by Gary Hall Jnr, will start from the favourable No. 2 barrier with a record of five wins, three seconds and $75,580 in stakes from 22 starts.
Fakenit was a star three-year-old last year when her victories included the Group 3 Daintys Daughter Classic and the Group 1 WA Oaks before she was most impressive at her latest appearance by working hard in the breeze and finishing third behind Runkle Crunch and Captain Stirling in the Group 1 WA Derby on October 31.
Fakenit warmed up for this week’s event with a smart win in a 2185m trial at Pinjarra on Wednesday of last week when she settled in sixth position and then enjoyed an ideal passage in the one-out, one-back position before getting to the front 75m from the post and winning by a length and a half from Sweet Pins, rating 1.57.8 after final quarters of 27.3sec. and 28.3sec.
Delightful Peg is unbeaten in WA after racing wide early, taking the lead with 1270m to travel and winning by a half-length from Gelsomino Amal, rating 1.58.2 over 1730m on Tuesday of last week, and then appearing again three nights later when she raced three wide for the first 550m and then in the breeze before getting to the front with 200m to travel and winning by a half-neck from the fast-finishing Starlight Dream, rating 1.56.6 over 2130m.
“I would like to lead and see how she goes,” said Hall Jnr. “That would give her a chance.”