Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Outstanding standing-start specialist Luvbite will relish a change to mobile racing when he begins from the No. 3 barrier in the $35,000 Howard Porter Memorial over 2636m at Gloucester Park on Friday night, according to his trainer Michael Young.
Young also prepares the two mares in the race, Penny Black (barrier seven) and Beach Diamond (four), who are capable of figuring in the finish.
But Young has no hesitation in declaring the evergreen seven-year-old Luvbite, a veteran of 164 starts, as his stable’s best chance.
“Hopefully, Luvbite will lead and if he runs the times he has been running in the stands, I don’t expect him to be beaten,” he said. “He goes good in front.”
Luvbite will be handled by Emily Suvaljko, the stable’s No. 1 driver, while Aiden De Campo has been engaged to drive Penny Black, a redoubtable mare who has earned $450,308 from 18 wins and 16 placings from 49 starts.
Trent Wheeler will drive talented four-year-old Beach Diamond, who has raced 19 times for ten wins and four seconds.
Suvaljko has driven Beach Diamond at her three starts in WA, and she has driven Penny Black 22 times for six wins, six seconds and three thirds, and the decision to handle Luvbite in preference to those two talented pacers is an indication of her confidence that Luvbite is poised to run a great race.
Luvbite has been in grand form from back marks in recent standing-start events. His most recent five starts have been in stands, and he has contested mobile events only twice from his past twelve appearances.
The 2536m trip on Friday night will be no problem for Luvbite, who revealed his splendid staying ability two starts ago when he began from the back mark of 50m and charged home from last to win the 3309m Marathon in record time.
De Campo will be looking to win the Porter Memorial for the second time after he drove the polemarker Magnificent Storm to an all-the-way victory 12 months ago.
Master trainer Gary Hall Snr holds a strong hand in Friday night’s race with three in-form runners, Youre So Fine (barrier eight), Sweet Pins (barrier two on the back line) and Alta Tribute (barrier three on the back line).
Hall has won this event five times, with Make The Rules (1999), Its Written In The Stars (2000), Crusader Banner (2015), Chicago Bull (2020) and Prince Of Pleasure (2023), while Hall Jnr has also won the event five times, scoring with Fletcher Christian (2003), Crusader Banner, Chicago Bull, Hurricane Harley (2021) and Prince Of Pleasure.
Hall Jnr will drive Youre So Fine, who impressed last Friday week when he began from the No. 8 barrier and was ninth at the bell before charging home to finish second to Sweet Pins in a fast-run 1730m Free-For-All.
Sweet Pins will be handled by Stuart McDonald, who was in the sulky when the five-year-old was successful two weeks ago. Maddison Brown will drive Alta Tribute, another smart five-year-old she drove to victory in successive outings in July and August.