Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Seven-year-old Youre So Fine has recovered from crippling injuries that have twice threatened to end his career, and he returned to action after a 19-week absence in a blaze of glory at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Prepared and produced in fine fettle by master trainer Gary Hall Snr, the New Zealand-bred seven-year-old made a mockery of his handsome odds of $17.20 from the outside of the back line in the $31,000 Bridge Bar Pace over 2130m when he scored a brilliant victory.
Maddison Brown, driving Youre So Fine for the first time in a race, deputising in the sulky for Gary Hall Jnr, who is enjoying a well-deserved fishing holiday in the south of the State, handled the Always B Miki gelding with aplomb, guiding him to victory over the fast-finishing Menemsha.
Brown got Youre So Fine away smoothly and he settled down in sixth position, one-out and two-back, before he was sent forward, out three wide, with 900m to travel. He sustained a determined burst to take the lead on the home turn and beat $8.50 chance Menemsha by a head, with Maximum Rock ($19) a length farther back. He rated 1.55.3 after the final 800m was covered in 56.8sec.
This was Youre So Fine’s 31ST start in a race and took his record to 13 wins and seven placings for earnings of $224,980. This would have been considerably better had it not been for the gelding’s serious leg and hoof injuries, problems which caused him to be out of action for lengthy periods of 19 months and 17 months.
Brown paid a special tribute to Hall Jnr, explaining that she went into the race with high expectations. “I was confident because Junior had given me a lot of confidence,” she said.
“He told me not to worry about the horse’s long price and said that Youre So Fine had been working in super fashion at home. Therefore, drive him full of confidence.”
And that is just what Brown did, being the first driver to make a positive move approaching the bell.
“I took Youre So Fine three deep about 900m from home,” she said. “I wanted to be the first one to go, and obviously trying to keep Hugotastic (the $2.70 favourite) as far back as I could to give my horse every chance.
“So, as soon as I pulled him out it was game on. He was travelling super but got a bit tired late, but he did enough to hang on. Earlier, I was a bit worried when he was a bit keen in the warm-up. But as soon as he went up (in the score-up behind the mobile barrier) he relaxed.”
Youre So Fine was purchased by New Zealand trainer Brett Gray for $14,000 at the 2020 yearling sale in Christchurch, and the following year he showed his class by winning the Group two Diamond Creek Farm Classic at Invercargill when he finished strongly from fifth at the 500m to beat Franco Indie, rating 1.56.7 over 2200m which set a New Zealand record for a two-year-old colt or gelding.
After that one win and a placing from three starts in New Zealand, Youre So Fine was purchased for a considerably higher price by a syndicate of owners linked to the Hall stable.
At his WA debut, Youre So Fine finished third to Tricky Miki in the Golden Slipper at Gloucester Park in July 2021 and then had three more runs as a two-year-old at Gloucester Park for two wins and a nose second to Floewriter before suffering tendon injuries in both front legs.
After an injury-enforced absence of 19 months Youre So Fine reappeared in July 2023 when he scored seven wins in a row, including the 3309m Marathon Handicap at Gloucester Park when he defeated Steel The Show.
But five months later Youre So Fine broke down again when he dropped out to finish eleventh behind Tricky Miki in the Golden Nugget, with leg problems forcing him out of action for 17 months.
Youre So Fine’s victory on Friday night was his first for 23 months, since he raced without cover and beat Benji by a half-neck over 2130m at Gloucester Park on June 28, 2024.
And the win completed a winning treble in successive events for Hall Snr, following the wins of Sweet Pins ($8.90) and Ultimate Miki ($1.80).