Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Capel trainer Aiden De Campo enjoyed a remarkable highlight in a glittering career when he landed the treble in the $215,000 Allwood Stud Westbred Classic for two-year-old colts and geldings at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
And he will be aiming for a similar exceptional result when Menemsha, Grevis and Ideal Muscle line up in the $150,000 Group 1 Golden Slipper next Friday week.
The 31-year-old De Campo drove with supreme confidence and skill to guide $5.70 chance Menemsha to victory by almost a length over $13 chance Grevis (Trent Wheeler) and $14 chance Ideal Muscle (Shannon Suvaljko). The trifecta dividend for a $1 unit was $142.80.
The only dark cloud over Friday night’s joyous celebration is that De Campo will be unable to drive Menemsha in the Golden Slipper. At midnight he began a 16-day suspension for causing interference in a race the previous Friday night.
De Campo was overjoyed at the result but admitted that everything in the race did not go to plan. “When I went back off the gate (from barrier five) looking for a hole, I missed two holes. So, it wasn’t my best drive early.
“I then had to work forward (three wide) to the breeze (with the polemarker and $1.70 favourite Waverider setting the pace),” said De Campo. “Menemsha wasn’t quite comfortable and got a bit keen in the middle stages. I was a little bit worried until the 400m when I saw that Waverider didn’t have much left and my bloke was going well.”
After a third quarter of 28sec. Menemsha finished strongly to hit the front 120m from the post and win comfortably, with a final 400m of 29sec. He rated 1.56.7 over the 2130m.
Grevis, who trailed Waverider all the way, finished with a spirited burst to be second, with Ideal Muscle finishing solidly, out four wide, after racing three back on the pegs. Cork Can Run ($41) ran on from seventh at the bell to finish fourth, just ahead of the wilting Waverider.
Menemsha, a colt by American stallion Sunshine Beach who purchased for $47,500 at the 2022 APG Perth yearling sale, has now earned $179,711 from three wins and four placings from ten starts. He is the fifth foal out of Falcons Gem, who was retired after finishing third at one of her three starts at Pinjarra.
Grevis, a colt by Lazarus and bought for $30,000 as a yearling, has also excelled under De Campo’s tuition, having raced nine times for two wins and seven placings for stakes of $88,599.
As a trainer De Campo has prepared five Group 1 winners as well as eight wins in Group 2 events and four in Group 3 features. As a driver he has chalked up ten Group 1 victories.