Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Champion reinsman Gary Hall Jnr chalked up a notable achievement when he prepared his first metropolitan-class winner as a trainer when Maddison Brown drove veteran pacer Regal Cheval to a smart victory in the 2130m Trotsynd Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The 41-year-old Hall, who is approaching 4000 wins as a reinsman, has concentrated on driving throughout his career in harness racing, and is now enjoying the challenge of training a couple of pacers, including Miki Jet, a winner at Gloucester Park last Tuesday week.
His first winner as a trainer was with The Postie at Northam on August 22, 2001. He has now prepared a total of nine winners. Apart from Regal Cheval and Miki Jet he has won two races with General Jolt and Comnharry and notched a win with Armed Reactor and Henrick Larsson.
Regal Cheval was an $8.10 chance on Friday night when he ended a 20-month drought and broke a losing sequence of 42. Brown got Regal Cheval away fast from barrier four and the nine-year-old burst straight to the front despite the urgings of Hall on the $2.40 favourite Medieval Man from the No. 1 barrier.
Regal Cheval enjoyed moderate opening quarters of 31.2sec. and 30sec. before he sprinted over the final 400m sections in 27.7sec. and 28sec. He won convincingly from $4 chance Sugar Apple, who worked hard early before enjoying an ideal trip in the one-out, one-back position. The winner rated a smart 1.56.6.
Regal Cheval was having his fourth start for Hall, who said there was no magic formula for his success on Friday night.
“I just work him like all the others,” he said. “He had dropped back in class to a grade in which he should be able to win. Colin (Colin Brown, Regal Cheval’s previous trainer) said the horse needed a change.”
Regal Cheval, a gelding by American sire Artistic Fella, is a veteran of 132 starts who has won 13 races and been placed 36 times for earnings of $162,069.