Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
While punters at Gloucester Park on Friday night were cheering home the hot favourite Lucapelo in the opening event, the 2130m Lugarno Gumby Punters Club Pace, the three-year-old’s American owners Gordon Banks and Marc Hanover were up and about at 5 o’clock in the morning watching the race on satellite television 18,320km away in Miami, Florida.
The New York-born Banks and Hanover are cousins and leviathan owners, who have raced pacers with considerable success in America, New Zealand and Australia since 1982.
About 15 years ago they were racing 99 horses all over the world. But now they have reduced their involvement to about 40 horses.
They purchased Lucapelo, a black colt by American sire Sweet Lou, for $34,000 at the 2021 Perth APG yearling sale, and the youngster is showing considerable promise for Mundijong trainer Michael Young.
“I haven’t met the owners,” said Young. “They called me and asked me to take Lucapelo (who has now had 13 starts for three wins, four placings and $39,219). They ring me at ungodly hours, but they’re good owners.”
Lucapelo was the $1.04 favourite for Friday night’s $20,250 event, in which he started from the No. 5 barrier and was surprising beaten for early speed by $8 chance Bronzed, who began brilliantly from barrier eight and burst straight to the front.
Bronzed, a winner at his four previous starts, inexplicably broke into a gallop when in front after 200m and dropped back to last. Gary Hall Jnr then dashed Lucapelo to the front and the black gelding was not extended in ambling through the opening quarters in 32.8sec. and 29.6sec. before increasing the tempo with final 400m sections of 29.3sec. and 28.4sec. He went on to win easily by just under a length from the fast-finishing $23 chance Lukes Mistake, rating 1.58.7.
“I wasn’t too concerned when Lucapelo didn’t lead early,” said Young. “I actually didn’t mind when he got crossed. This enabled me to see how good he is.”
The first pacer that Banks and Hanover raced in Australia was the New Zealand-bred Tupelo Rose, who won the Victoria and Australian Oaks at Moonee Valley and the Queensland Oaks at Albion Park in 2000. Tupelo Rose then went to America where she won many more races before being retired with a record of 101 starts for 35 wins and 25 placings for stakes of $879,867.
In recent years the owners have enjoyed great success with New Zealand-bred pacers Amazing Dream and American Dealer.
Amazing Dream won the $250,000 Rising Sun at Albion Park in July 2021, beating Copy That by a head, and then later in the month she won the $250,000 Blacks A Fake Championship at Albion Park before winning the Kilmore Cup in September and the Group 1 Queen Of The Pacific in October.
Then four days after finishing third behind King Of Swing and Spirit Of St Louis in the Hunter Cup at Melton she left for America on February 9, 2022. Her record now stands at 63 starts for 26 wins, 25 placings and $1,658,276.
American Dealer has earned $508,430 from 16 wins and 18 placings from 56 starts. As a three-year-old he won the Group 1 Sires Stakes final at Alexandra Park, beating Krug by a head, two Group 2 classics at Alexandra Park and the Queensland Derby at Albion Park.