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Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators

New Zealand-bred Arma Indie has been unplaced at her past nine starts but looks to have excellent prospects of winning the 2130m Etch Coatings Commercial Spray Painting Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

She has been racing in considerably stronger company and she is sure to appreciate a drop in class as well as the distinct advantage of starting from the prized No. 1 barrier.

The five-year-old, who is in foal, will be driven by Mark Reed and trained by his father Mike, who says that she has sufficient gate speed to lead from the inside barrier.

Among her rivals is ten-year-old A Boy Named Rosie, who will be driven by Shannon Suvaljko for trainer Craig Hynam. The oldstager, a veteran of 164 starts, has managed just two placings from his past 24 starts. But he showed promise of better things to come when he ran home solidly from ninth at the bell to finish fifth behind Has No Fear last Friday night. He will start from the No. 3 barrier.

“That was a good first-up run, and this is not a particularly strong field,” said Suvaljko.

Suvaljko also likes his chances with the Michael Young-trained Beat City in the The Trots WA, Harness The Dream Pace in which the four-year-old is awkwardly drawn at barrier six.

“Beat City’s win at Narrogin on Tuesday of last week was good and the 2536m will not bother him,” he said.

Beat City, the backmarker off 50m in the 2662m even at Narrogin, was last in the field of ten with 900m to travel, and he impressed when he started a three-wide burst at the 600m on his way to scoring an easy three-length victory over the pacemaker Lap Of Honour.

Suvaljko also will have many admirers when he drives Alice Kay in the seventh event and Queeninthecorner in the final race.

“Alice Kay is back to mares’ company and she should run a good race,” said Suvaljko. “Queeninthecorner (unbeaten in three starts for trainer Mike Reed) goes good and will run a good race despite starting from the outside in the field eight.”