Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Outstanding young reinsman Michael Grantham will make a welcome return to driving at Gloucester Park on Friday night when he drives brilliant speedster Pinny Tiger in the Joe and Margaret Petricevich Memorial Nights of Thunder heat one.
The 27-year-old has not handled the Michael Brennan-trained Pinny Tiger in a race since May 20 last year when the Mach Three gelding won at a 1.53.9 rate over 2130m.
Pinny Tiger has had 33 starts for 12 wins and ten seconds, with Grantham having handled the pacer 18 times for six wins, seven seconds and five unplaced runs.
“I’m trying to bring Michael back to driving, making a comeback like John Farnham,” said Brennan. “He has been concentrating on training gallopers recently.”
Pinny Tiger has an awkward barrier at No. 6, but Brennan is confident he will charge to an early lead, saying: “I think he should get across (to the front); that’s the plan.”
Grantham drove Pinny Tiger in a 2185m trial at Pinjarra on Wednesday of last week when the gelding trailed the pacemaker Lavra Joe before running home strongly to finish a short half-head behind Lavra Joe, rating 1.55. “Michael didn’t pull the plugs; he just sat there quietly,” said Brennan who is planning the heat and the final of the 1730m Nights of Thunder as a stepping stone to contesting the $450,000 TABtouch WA Pacing Cup over 2936m on January 27.
“I’m happy to head in this direction,” said Brennan. “Hopefully, after the Nights of Thunder we can get into the Pacing Cup. The jump from 1730m to 2936m should not worry him. You’ve got to be an elite stayer to win good mile races.”
Grantham has driven at Gloucester Park only once in the past 19 weeks, and that was seven weeks ago when he was unplaced behind Loucid Dreams and Seeryanfly.
Friday night’s event should not be a walk in the park for Pinny Tiger, who will meet with plenty of opposition from the Greg and Skye Bond-trained trio of Dont Bother Me None (Ryan Warwick; barrier one), Tenzing Bromac (Dylan Egerton-Green; barrier three) and Ima Rockabilly Rebel (Deni Roberts; barrier four).
Sugar Street, trained by Barry Howlett and to be driven by Chris Lewis, should prove hard to beat in the Retravision.com.au Nights Of Thunder heat two. He has excellent gate speed and Lewis is sure to press forward hard early in a bid to overtake the polemarker and last-start winner Middlepage (Lindsay Harper) in a bid for an all-the-way win.
Sugar Street, a winner at ten of his 33 starts, is in fine form and will be favoured to beat the Mike Reed-trained Ragazzo Mach and the Michael Young-trained Orlando Blue.
Ragazzo Mach, to be driven by Shannon Suvaljko, will start from barrier four and is sure to appreciate a considerable drop in class after finishing sixth behind Diego in the group 2 2130m Stratton Cup last Friday night. Two starts before that Ragazzo Mach finished powerfully to win a 2536m Free-For-All, beating Prince Of Pleasure and Mighty Conqueror.