Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Jaspervellabeach has started at long odds when unplaced at his three outings after resuming from a spell, but trainer Gary Elson is confident that the five-year-old will return to the winning list by leading all the way in the 2130m www.DTSWA.com.au Search Online Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“He gets his chance to get back into the winning list,” said Elson. “He has had a terrible run with barrier draws, but this week he’s got the barrier (No. 1) and the best driver (Gary Hall jnr), so he should lead and be hard to catch.”
Jaspervellabeach, who has won at 12 of his 50 starts, meets only moderate opposition and should dominate betting on the race.
Hall, who has a drive in the first eight events on the nine-event program, said he was looking forward to setting the pace with Jaspervellabeach and holding his rivals at bay. But he named Heez Our Perseus as his best winning chance, with the New Zealand-bred six-year-old ideally drawn at barrier No. 1 in the 2130m Farmlock Fencing At DTS Pace.
“He’s flying, he has plenty of gate speed and he loves the rail,” he said.
Hall also expects a strong showing from Vivere Damore in the $26,000 DTS All Your Civil And Construction Needs Pace for mares, saying: “She went super at Pinjarra on Monday when she was a close-up fifth behind Purest Silk in the Golden Girls Mile.
“If she had been able to get out and got clear and got rolling a little earlier, she wins,” he said. “Vivere Damore is each-way all day.”
Vivere Damore, trained by Peter Tilbrook, has a losing sequence of 20, with her most recent victory being 15 months ago when she led and beat Patronus Star in the group 2 Christmas Gift.
The Mike Cornwall-trained Sheez Our Hope is expected to be a short-priced favourite after drawing the No. 1 barrier. She is a brilliant sit-sprinter, but also possesses good gate speed. Whether Kyle Harper will attempt an all-the-way win is debatable.
With star reinsman Ryan Warwick in isolation for having been in close contact with a COVID-19 sufferer, trainers Greg and Skye Bond have engaged Dylan Egerton-Green to drive Booraa, who will start from barrier three.
Egerton-Green has driven Booraa three times for an all-the-way win at Pinjarra, a third at Gloucester Park and a second at Pinjarra. Booraa has resumed after a spell in sound form, and she impressed last Friday night when she sustained a strong three-wide burst from ninth at the bell to finish second to Eighteen Carat.