Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Talented Collie reinsman Trent Wheeler made hay while the sun was shining when he filled in for absent Capel trainer Aiden De Campo at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Wheeler completed a double with De Campo-trained pacers when he drove promising filly Miss Hepburn to victory in the final event, the $21,000 Go To Allwood Stud To Breed Your Westbred Star Pace.
He had won earlier in the night with Rockandrollartist, and Miss Hepburn’s win gave the 39-year-old Wheeler his first city double.
Wheeler, a full-time auto electrician in Collie, has enjoyed great successes on country tracks and his 540 winners have included bags of four wins on a program at Wagin and Albany.
He has driven 32 winners this season, following his outstanding year in the 2023 season when he won 96 races, including the Group 1 Mares Classic and the Group 2 Empress Stakes with Simply Shaz.
He also won the Group 1 Westbred Classic for three-year-old fillies with Once Bitten in July 2015, and the Group 1 Four-Year-Old Classic with Pinny Tiger in December 2022.
Miss Hepburn was the $3.30 second fancy, with Xceptional Arma the $2.60 favourite in Friday night’s 1730m event. Wheeler had to drive Miss Hepburn hard early from the No. 2 barrier when challenged by $4.40 chance Relatively Arma.
Miss Hepburn was able to hold the lead and she dashed over the 400m sections of the race in 28.9sec., 29.8sec., 29sec. and 29.1sec. to win by a half-length from $10 chance Sugar Delight, who ran home strongly from fifth at the bell. The winner rated 1.55.9 and took her record to eleven starts for two wins, five seconds and two thirds for stakes of $79,512.
Miss Hepburn, is by former star pacer Ultimate Machete, who was retired with earnings of $823,896 from 13 wins and 11 placings from 32 starts. His wins included the Group 1 Four-Year-Old Classic and the Group 1 Golden Nugget at Gloucester Park in November and December 2017.
Her dam is the Grinfromeartoear mare Montanas Smile, who managed three placings from 16 starts and produced Bolta, who was retired with a record of 107 starts for 11 wins, 30 placings and stakes of $97,606.
Wheeler said that he was more than happy to substitute in the sulky for De Campo, who was attending a wedding in Byron Bay.
“Aiden filled me with confidence when he said if we could get out hard enough and hold the lead, we should win the race,” said Wheeler. “As it turned out, he was right. She is a beautiful filly and very honest.”
Wheeler certainly deserved his wins with Rockandrollartist and Miss Hepburn. He is a regular track driver for De Campo at his Capel training establishment, making the 45-minute drive from Collie to Capel to drive trackwork before returning home to Collie to go to work as an auto electrician.