Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
WA-bred five-year-old Blaze Away has been plagued by unfavourable barriers and now he gets his chance to end a losing sequence of seven when he begins from the coveted No. 1 barrier in the 2130m Nova 93.7 Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“He has been crying out for a barrier, so I have put him up in grade this week to guarantee he gets the inside barrier,” said his trainer Michael Young.
“His gate speed has always been hit and miss, but there is not a lot of gate speed across the front line, and he definitely gets his chance to lead.”
Blaze Away, to be driven by Emily Suvaljko, was most impressive last Friday night when he began from out wide at barrier eight and was restrained to the rear. He was last in the field of eleven at the bell and was switched four wide with 450m to travel and surged home, out five wide, to finish fifth, a length and a half behind the winner Fly To The Finish.
“He had no right to finish fifth,” said Young. “I have got him better than he has ever been going but he hasn’t had much racing luck. Now, from barrier one, he can make his own luck, and he is my best winning prospect on the night.”
Blaze Away has begun from the No. 1 barrier in mobile events four times for one win (when leading over 2185m at Pinjarra), a second to Water Lou (when leading over 2130m at Gloucester Park), an eighth behind Copy Cat Queen over 2130m and a second to Nathan Street over 2130m.
Gary Hall Jnr trains two of Blaze Away’s rivals — Eastbro Chrissy (barrier five) and Final Collect (barrier seven) — and he has chosen to drive Eastbro Chrissy, whose first four starts in Western Australia have produced wins at Pinjarra and Gloucester Park, followed by an excellent second to the brilliant Fakenit and a ninth behind Poppyonthebeach when she covered extra ground and met with interference.
Final Collect, who will be driven by Maddison Brown, finished solidly when second to Opal Hunter over 2130m last Friday night.
Back line runners Elite Fleet, Spitfire and Soho Moonraker are racing keenly and cannot be left out of calculations.
Apart from Blaze Away, the Young stable has excellent winning prospects with Heavenly Gipsy (race four), Stormy Vista (race seven) and Lincoln Lover (race ten), with the trio to be driven by Emily Suvaljko.
Heavenly Gipsy will start from barrier five in the $25,000 Fresh Hits And Throwbacks On Nova Pace over 2130m and is capable of ending a losing sequence of 15 stretching back to her all-the-way victory over Princess Katie and Nase Vira last October.
“We have been driving Heavenly Gipsy for luck, but it hasn’t been coming,” said Young. “She has been held up at her past two runs and probably would have won both times if she had got clear.”
Heavenly Gipsy’s most serious rival looms as Insta Gator, trained and driven by Jocelyn Young and favourably drawn at barrier two. Insta Gator reappeared after a six-month absence when he impressed in surging home from last the bell to finish fourth to High Price over 2130m last Friday night.
Stormy Vista, a standing-start specialist, will begin from the 20m mark in the Joel Creasey Show On Nova Handicap over 2503m, with Suvaljko hellbent on getting the four-year-old away smoothly in a bid to get to the front and setting a solid pace to make sure that the prospects of the backmarkers are diminished.
Lincoln Lover, a winner at two of his 20 New Zealand starts, has worked hard without cover at his two starts in Western Australia in which he revealed excellent fighting qualities to finish second to Manuka Bay over 2130m at Gloucester Park and a close third behind He Is Talking and A Precious Gem over 2185m at Pinjarra on Monday this week.
He was the sole runner on the back line in Monday’s race and raced in the breeze for most of the event before fighting on determinedly to finish just a half-length behind the winner, who sprinted over the final 400m in 27.8sec.
Lincoln Lover will start from the outside barrier in the field of seven on Friday night and will need to be close to his peak to beat very capable opposition.
“Lincoln Lover is not a breeze horse, so his past two runs have been good, considering,” said Michael Young. “I was pleased with his run at Pinjarra on Monday. It looked as though he was all done at the top of the straight and then he actually got through the line as good as any of the others.”