Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
The twelve owners of the oddly-named Bull Shark Betty will be praying for another exemplary drive from champion reinsman Gary Hall Jnr in the $125,000 APG WA Sales Classic for two-year-old fillies at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Hall will be seeking to win this rich feature event for the third year in a row, after wins with Cabsav in 2022 and Water Lou last year.
Hall admits he faces a most difficult assignment, with Bull Shark Betty, trained in Busselton by Chris Beckett, facing a testing Task from out wide at barrier No. 8 against several formidable rivals.
However, Hall showed in the past that he is capable of overcoming significant odds by winning with Cabsav and Water Lou.
Cabsav began from barrier six when Hall was able to get her into the one-out, one-back position before the spring home to win by a half-length from August Moon. Then, a year later Hall got Water Lou away brilliantly from the No. 8 barrier to burst to the front after 250m and then set the pace and win easily from Xceptional Arma.
Bull Shark Betty, a filly by American sire Sportswriter, was purchased at the APG 2023 Perth yearling sale for $28,000 by Aaron Beckett, who races her in partnership with his wife Beth, Brad Earl, Mark and Kerry Lee, Sam Shepherd, Graeme Snow, Darren Kirkham, Brad Kearney, Paul Davis, Leigh Corbitt and Phyllis Saunders.
After finishing a long last in a race at Pinjarra on debut on February 5, Bull Shark Betty gave a sample of her class with a decisive victory in a heat of the Sales Classic on Tuesday of last week. She had gear problems and pulled the bit through her mouth in the Pinjarra race.
She was restrained by Hall from barrier four in the qualifying heat and raced in fifth position, one-out and one back, before she sprinted home powerfully to take the lead 120m from home before winning by three lengths from Highview Heidi, who raced in the breeze before taking the lead with 220m to travel.
The final 400m was covered in 28.4sec. and Bull Shark Betty rated 1.57.2, the fifth fastest of the qualifiers for the final. The fastest qualifier was the Ryan Bell-trained Copper Head Lady, who will be the only runner on the back line in the final.
Copper Head Lady will be driven by Aiden De Campo, who replaces Kyle Symington, who has elected to drive stablemate Bettagetonpip, who is favourably drawn at barrier three.
Copper Head Lady began from barrier five in her qualifying heat and raced three wide for the first 300m before enjoying an ideal passage, one-out and one-back, and then finishing strongly to take the lead 220m from home and win by two lengths from Crunchee, who gave a spirited performance after racing without cover.
Crunchee, prepared by leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond and driven by Deni Roberts, looks very hard to beat in the final, in which she will start from the No. 4 barrier.
Symington is confident that Bettagetonpip will fight out the finish. “I probably didn’t rate her the best when in the breeze in the heat,” he explained. “I was worrying more about qualifying, rather than winning. She is going really well.”
Ruby Lou is trained by Mike Reed, who prepared Cabsav and Water Lou for their wins in the Sales Classic on the past two years. Ruby Lou, a winner at two of her three starts, will be handled by leading reinsman Shannon Suvaljko, and will start from the No. 5 barrier.
“Five is not a terrible draw for Ruby Lou,” said Suvaljko. “She led and won at her latest start, but on debut two starts before that she sat back last and then went around to the breeze before winning easily at Pinjarra.”
Ruby Lou set the pace from barrier one in her qualifying heat in which she rated 1.58.2 over 1730m and beat Bettagetonpip and Winter Wonder. Bunbury trainer Paul Strachan has engaged Chris Voak to drive Highview Heidi, who will start from the coveted No. 1 barrier and will have many admirers.