Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Promising pacer Lazi Dais is unbeaten at his four starts on country tracks this season, and his trainer Ryan Bell is confident that he will extend this sequence when he contests the $23,000 Barbagallo Lamborghini Westbred Pace for four and five-year-olds over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Lazi Dais, to be driven for the first time by Ryan Warwick, is awkwardly drawn at barrier six, but Bell does not see that as a negative, saying: “I think he is a great chance. He is not just a leader; he can win any way the race is run.
“He has been getting it his own way a bit in this campaign, but he has been running good sectionals. Last year he wasn’t the best pacer when he had bad stifles. But we seem to be on top of that at the moment.
“I’m confident he can acquit himself well. At home he works with Waverider and Franco Encore and matches them.”
Lazi Dais has raced four times this year, all in the space of 28 days in March, for comfortable victories at Pinjarra (twice), Bridgetown and Bunbury. The winning margins at his past three outings have been four lengths, eleven lengths and four and a half lengths.
At his most recent outing Lazi Dais rated 1.56 when he beat Bazaar Package over 2100m at Bunbury last Saturday week when he sped over the final 400m sections in 26.8sec. and 27.3sec.
He has won at nine of his 19 starts, with five appearances at Gloucester Park resulting in three wins, one second and one fifth placing. His most recent city appearance was six starts ago on September 5 last year when he led from the No. 1 barrier and won the Group 2 Westbred Classic for three-year-old colts and geldings, beating Pinjarra Rocks by three lengths.
Lazi Dais meets strong opposition on Friday night, with Captain Stirling sure to prove hard to beat, and several other runners having realistic winning prospects.
Captain Stirling will be having his second start after a spell for trainer-reinsman Dylan Egerton-Green. The four-year-old resumed in good style after a four-month absence when he worked hard early before getting to the front and dashing away to win by five lengths from South Side Story over 2185m at Pinjarra three Mondays ago.
Captain Stirling has shown excellent form in feature events, including a neck second to Belly Up in the Group 1 Westbred Classic for two-year-olds, a victory over Belly Up in the Group 1 Sales Classic for three-year-olds and a second to Runkle Crunch in the WA Derby.
Belly Up should be prominent in Friday night’s event when having his third start after a spell. He flew home, out four wide, to finish a half-length second to Chaco Eagle on March 20, and a week later he sustained a powerful burst to finish second to Tiger Royal.
Five-year-olds Alta Tribute, Petes Honour and Thelittle Master have drawn the three widest positions but are all capable of a bold showing. Gary Hall Jnr said that he was impressed when Alta Tribute was last in the field of eight at the bell before charging home to finish third behind Justcallmemiki and Como El Viento over 2130m last Friday week.
An interesting runner is five-year-old Menemsha, who will start from the outside of the back line at his first outing for three and a half months. “He has come back good; this is not a bad draw, and he should get a decent run from there in an even field,” said his trainer-reinsman Aiden De Campo.
As a two-year-old Menemsha won the Pearl Classic and Westbred Classic; as a three-year-old he finished second to Christopher Dance in the WA Derby, and as a four-year-old he won the August Cup last year.