Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Champion reinsman Gary Hall Jnr has given punters an important lead by choosing to drive Cooper in preference to Robbie Rocket in the Smooth FM Pace, a 2503m stand at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Cooper, trained by Michael Young, will be reappearing after a 14-week absence and he will start from barrier three on the front line. Hall has driven the Ron Huston-trained Robbie Rocket at his past three starts (all in stands) for an all-the-way win and placings behind Firerockfireroll and Himself.
Robbie Rocket will start from the 10m mark and will be driven for the first time by Stuart McDonald. Hall drove Robbie Rocket in a 2550m standing-start trial at Byford on Sunday morning when the four-year-old dashed to an early lead and set the pace before winning the trial by just over a length from Cooper.
Cooper was handled in the trial by Joseph Suvaljko, and the four-year-old won the start before taking the sit behind Robbie Rocket. The final 400m was covered in 27.9sec. and Cooper went to the line without being fully extended.
Young and Hall should combine to send punters home on a happy note by winning the final event, the 2130m Book Your NYE @Gloucester Park Pace with the New Zealand-bred Serious Moonlite, who will be making his Australian debut.
Serious Moonlite, a winner at four of his 25 New Zealand starts, was not extended in a 2150m trial at Byford on Sunday morning when he finished second to stablemate Ideal Tomato. He will start from the No. 1 barrier and should prove too smart for his rivals, the most serious of whom are likely to be Seven No Trumps and Livy Jay.
Cooper and Serious Moonlite are two of Young’s team of eight runners who will be in action on Friday night, with the others being Getn Wiggy Withit (race one), Eighteen Carat (race three), Beat City (race six), Firerockfireroll (race eight), Moonlite Drive and Orlando Blue (race nine).