Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Emily Suvaljko would dearly love to celebrate her 26TH birthday on Friday by driving Hugotastic to victory in the $31,000 Kids Eat Free Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park.
Hugotastic, trained by Michael Young, will start from the No. 2 barrier on the back line, and Suvaljko gives the New Zealand-bred six-year-old an excellent chance, particularly if the race is an up-tempo affair.
“There probably will be a lot of speed on with Captain Ravishing and Hotly Pursued on the front line,” she said. “Therefore, I should be able to hold Hugo up for one run.”
Hugotastic is a brilliant sit-sprinter who gave an outstanding performance in a 1730m Free-For-All last Friday night when he began from the inside of the back line and raced at the rear while Franco Encore was setting a scorching pace with Captain Ravishing applying considerable pressure.
The opening quarters were run in 27.8sec. and 28.2sec., and at the bell Hugotastic was in eleventh position, with the eventual winner Sweet Pins in ninth place.
Sweet Pins sprinted brilliantly to charge to the front 300m from home. Hugotastic was twelfth and last with 350m to travel before Suvaljko urged him forward. He was still at the rear when he went seven wide on the home turn before flashing home to finish second, three lengths from the winner, Sweet Pins, who rated 1.51.3 after final 400m sections of 27.9sec. and 28.5sec.
“I thought Hugo’s effort was the run of the race,” said Suvaljko, while an admiring Gary Hall Jnr was fulsome in his praise of Sweet Pins, saying: “He is an exciting horse with an electric turn of foot.”
With some of the front-line fancied runners battling for ascendancy, Hugotastic and Sweet Pins, who will start alongside each other on the back line, will be poised to charge forward, ensuring a cat and mouse contest.
Sweet Pins and Hugotastic are certainly not the only winning prospects in the race in which champion trainers Greg and Skye Bond hold a powerful hand with last-start winner We Walk By Faith (Deni Roberts; barrier seven) and Golden Lode (Kyle Symington; barrier nine) commanding great respect, along with multiple group 1 winner Mighty Ronaldo (Will Rixon; barrier eight).