Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Goodfellaz, the least experienced runner in the $100,000 TABtouch Westbred Classic for three-year-old colts and geldings at Gloucester Park on Friday night, is ready for the daunting challenge against several talented rivals, including four group 1 winners and the brilliant Swingband, who has won three group 2 races and one group 3 feature event.
That’s the opinion of champion reinsman Chris Lewis, who plans to take advantage of the No. 1 barrier in the group 1 classic over 2130m.
“I think he is in with a good shot,” declared Lewis. “He has run some pretty good times and drawn the one is an advantage. He has shown that he is a good leader, and he does like it in front, and there’s no reason why he won’t be staying there.”
Goodfellaz, bred and trained by Lewis’s wife Debra, is the only runner in Friday night’s classic who did not race as a two-year-old. His nine starts this season have produced five wins, two seconds and a third placing.
He gave a dashing performance against older, but only modest performers when he began speedily from barrier two, set a fast pace and sprinted the final 400m in 27.5sec. to win by eight lengths from Strauny, rating a slick 1.55.8 over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Tuesday of last week.
A week earlier Goodfellaz started from the outside of the back line and raced in the breeze for much of the way before winning narrowly from the pacemaker The Amber Hare after dashing over the final 400m in 27.5sec.
Swingband, trained by Ryan Bell and to be driven by Michael Grantham, will start from the No. 5 barrier and looks certain to fight out the finish and prove hard to beat.
His winning sequence of eleven was broken last Friday night when he took the lead after 400m and set a fast pace before sprinting over the final quarters in 28.5sec. and 28.1sec. and being beaten by a half-head in the final stride by Machs Bettor, rating 1.56.7 over 2130m.
“Swingband needed the run, big-time,” said Bell. “He will bounce back better than ever.”
That was Swingband’s first run for a fortnight, when he started from the outside barrier (No. 9), settled in 11TH place, burst to the front after a lap and went on to win from The Miki Taker, rating 1.57 over 2130m.
The Miki Taker, winner of the group 1 Pearl Classic for two-year-olds in June 2021, is one of three classy youngsters prepared by Capel trainer Aiden De Campo.
De Campo will drive The Miki Taker from barrier four, and he has engaged Stuart McDonald to handle Floewriter from barrier two, and Emily Suvaljko to drive Rock On Top from barrier six. Floewriter, a speedy beginner, won the group 1 Sales Classic for two-year-olds last year, and Rock On Top gave a sample of his ability as a two-year-old when he won the group 1 Westbred Classic and the group 2 APG Gold Bullion final.
“I am quite happy with how the three of them worked this morning (Tuesday),” said De Campo. “The barrier draw has made it an interesting race.”
The Justin Prentice-trained Tricky Miki is awkwardly drawn at barrier seven, but star reinsman Gary Hall Jnr gives the gelding a good winning chance, saying: “He is as good as any of them, I reckon, but it is a bad draw. However, he is very quick, and if he can get some sort of run, close to them, he will be hard to beat.”
Tricky Miki, winner of the group 1 Golden Slipper in July last year, warmed up for this week’s classic in fine style when he raced wide in the middle stages and worked hard in the breeze before finishing a close second to Tenzing Bromac over 2100m at Bunbury three Wednesdays ago.
Bell, who is pinning his faith on Swingband, has a good second-string runner in Whataretheodds, who will be driven by Kyle Symington from the outside of the back line. Whataretheodds resumed racing after a five-month absence when he raced three back on the pegs and finished a good fourth behind Machs Bettor, Swingband and Maungatahi last Friday night.
Trainer Dylan Egerton-Green has two runners in Friday night’s event, Maungatahi and Paul Edward. He will drive Maungatahi from the outside barrier (No. 9) on the front line, and Ryan Warwick will be in the sulky behind Paul Edward, who starts out wide at barrier eight at his first appearance for eleven weeks.
Banjup trainer Colin Brown also has two runners. He will drive Arma Xfactor (barrier three), and his daughter Maddison will drive Loucid Dreams, who will start from the inside of the back line.