Ken Casellas | Photo: Pacepix
Watching Our Coin is far from a stylish pacer, but his unattractive style belies his undoubted ability.
The New Zealand-bred five-year-old improved his WA record to five wins and three placings from eight starts when he worked hard, three wide for the first circuit and then in the breeze before winning the 2130m Bau Rivage Buffet Dining Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
He was the $3.20 favourite from the awkward draw at barrier No. 6 and he revealed excellent fighting qualities to overcome his tough run to get to the front just over 100m from the post before winning by a metre from the pacemaker and $3.70 second fancy Rock On Top, rating 1.56.8 over the 2130m journey, with a smart final 400m of 28.6sec.
“His style is terrible, and he is horrible to watch,” said trainer Michael Young. “He just slugs around and sticks his head in front on the line and wins. He is tough and has a big heart. I think he is pretty good, but I don’t know how good he is. I’m looking forward to seeing how he goes.”
Watching Our Coin, driven by Gary Hall Jnr, certainly gives promise of developing into an open-class performer and improving considerably on his record of six wins, 11 placings and stakes of $63,458 from 36 starts. He has blossomed in WA after winning one race (a 2600m stand at Addington in February 2022) from 28 starts in New Zealand.