Champion trainer Gary Hall Snr has no regrets that he accepted a surprise call early in January from a Victorian owner offering him the task of preparing a promising four-year-old pacer Silent Major.
“I have never met Stevie Blacker, and he rang me out of the blue and said he would like to send Silent Major over to me,” said Hall.
“Silent Major had a bit of a rushed preparation for the Golden Nugget last month (when he started from the outside of the back line and finished eighth behind Minstrel, Magnificent Storm and company). And now, he seems to be getting better with every run.”
Silent Major, favourite at $1.60 from the No. 2 barrier on the back line in the Better Your Bet With TABtouch Pace at Gloucester Park on Saturday night, went forward at the start and Gary Hall Jnr quickly had him in a commanding position, one-out and one-back, with Roll With Me setting the pace.
Hall started a three-wide move with Silent Major 1350m from home to move into the breeze. Silent Major then dashed to the front with 470m to travel and went on to win by just over three lengths from Valentines Brook, who finished powerfully from eighth at the bell.
“Rating 1.56.9 over 2536m is pretty good,” said Hall Snr, who will nominate the stallion for the $50,000 Four And Five-Year-Old Championship next Friday night.
Silent Major won once from five New Zealand starts and his 18 runs in Victoria resulted in four wins and four placings. His three wins from four WA starts have boosted his earnings to $73,817 from eight wins and five placings from 27 starts.
By Ken Casellas