Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Veteran pacer Bracken Sky boosted his earnings past a quarter of a million dollars when he gave a typical solid frontrunning display to win the 2130m Noah George Race Night Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Delighted trainer and part-owner Debbie Padberg said that the versatile New South Wales-bred seven-year-old had exceeded all her expectations and those of her husband John and part-owners Don and Adele Simmons, who outlaid $20,000 to purchase the Rock N Roll Heaven gelding three years ago.
Bracken Sky, the $1.50 favourite in Friday night’s race, set the pace for reinsman Shannon Suvaljko, who took full advantage of the No. 1 barrier by driving the gelding to an all-the-way win over $11 chance Ideal Charm, who trailed the leader throughout and finished solidly along the inside.
This took Bracken Sky’s earnings for his new owners to $188,851 from nine wins and 23 placings from 97 WA starts — an excellent return for a $20,000 bargain. Bracken Sky now boasts an overall record of 142 starts for 19 wins, 37 placings and stakes of $259,580.
“We first became interested in buying Bracken Sky after he had won a semi-final of a Group 3 feature event for three-year-olds at Bathurst in July 2018,” said Mrs Padberg. “We told trainer-reinsman Blake Fitzpatrick to let us know if and when Bracken Sky was on the market. When the horse was about to be advertised for sale, we snapped him up for $20,000.”
Bracken Sky had to be driven out by Suvaljko to win on Friday night, with Mrs Padberg explaining “he was a bit flat tonight, and I’m going to give him a week off in the paddock before bringing him back in about three weeks.
“A week earlier he went forward from barrier seven in a 2536m event but was unable to get to the front and then was dragged back. I think that, combined with the wet weather, had taken a bit out of him.
“He has always been a sound horse, with perfect legs and just a joy to train. We’ve had offers from America, but we don’t want to sell him. He’s our pet.”