Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Speedy pacer Finvarra performed below his best when he set the pace and held on grimly to score a narrow victory over his stablemates Wildwest and Diego in the $31,000 Ray Duffy Memorial Free-For-All at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Finvarra, trained by Gary Hall Snr, rated 1.56.4 over the 2130m, and his win was certainly not as impressive as when he led and won at a 1.55.5 rate over the same journey the previous Friday night.
“He didn’t travel like he did last week,” said reinsman Gary Hall Jnr. “But he did enough to win. We gave him an easy time and decided not to track him during the week. Maybe the previous Friday night’s win was a bit too comfortable for him.”
Finvarra was a hot $1.20 favourite from the No. 3 barrier in Friday night’s event, in which Wildwest and Diego were $18 chances.
Steel The Show ($7.50) raced in the breeze, with Wildwest enjoying a perfect trip in the one-out, one-back position, and Diego following Wildwest all the way. Both Wildwest and Diego finished with powerful bursts and will pay to follow.
The WA-bred Finvarra has earned $286,797 from 15 wins and 14 placings from 40 starts.