Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Star reinsman Gary Hall Jnr is poised to notch his seventh victory in the prestigious $250,000 Hoist Torque Pearl Classic for two-year-old colts and gelding at Gloucester Park on Friday night when he drives brilliant gelding Hez The Boss from the prized No. 1 barrier.
In the weeks leading up to the Group 1 feature event Hall was deliberating between the Colin Brown-trained Hez The Boss and the Justin Prentice-trained Ideal Whisper as his drive.
He has driven Hez The Boss five times for five wins and Ideal Whisper twice for two victories, and when Hez The Boss drew barrier one and Ideal Whisper barrier four, he had no hesitation in choosing Hez The Boss.
Hall faced a similar dilemma four years ago when he thought long and hard before choosing to handle the Prentice-trained Never Ending (barrier three) ahead of his brilliant stablemate Valedictorian (barrier five) in the Pearl. His judgment was impeccable, with Never Ending winning and beating Valedictorian (Dylan Egerton-Green) into second place.
Prentice has now engaged Deni Roberts to drive Ideal Whisper, who was handled by Hall in a heat of the Pearl on Monday of last week when he began swiftly from barrier six, burst to the front after 120m, set the pace and sprinted over the final 400m sections in 28.5sec. and 28.3sec. to win, unextended, by two lengths from breeder, part-owner and trainer Sarah Wall’s promising gelding Ignite The Furnace, who fought on gamely after racing without cover.
Hez The Boss warmed up for the final with an effortless heat victory last week when he began from barrier five, strolled to the front after 450m, ambled through the opening quarters in 31.6sec. and 30.9sec. before giving a sample of his class with final 400m sections of 28.6sec. and 27.9sec. He won by two and a half lengths from Rock The Tour.
Ideal Whisper was the fastest of the three heat winners, rating 1.57 over the 2130m trip, with Hez The Boss rating 1.58.3 in his heat, and Beau Para, trained and driven by Dylan Egerton-Green, not extended in rating 2.2.7 when he set the pace and dashed home with a 28.5sec. quarter to win from the breeze horse Rip Tide.
Egerton-Green won the 2021 Pearl with the De Campo-trained The Miki Taker. De Campo also trained and drove Menemsha for his victory in the 2023 classic, and he won with Rich Yankee for trainer Jesse Moore in 2015. Brown has also tasted success in the Pearl, having driven Isaiah Artois for trainer David Thompson in 2014.
Prentice’s three Pearl winners as a trainer have been Manning (2019), Never Ending (2022) and Ideal Beach (2025), while Hall has won the classic with The Jobs On (2004), Itsallabout Nicole (2009), Go West U Terror (2010), Swagga (2013), Never Ending (2022) and Ideal Beach (2025).
Chris Lewis, who has driven the winner of the Pearl five times, will handle rank outsider Seaya Rocknroll for trainer Ross Olivieri, who prepared Lombo Laredo (1994) and Argent Treasure (2007) for their Pearl victories.
Trainers Kim Prentice (Bonebuster) and Terry Ferguson (Rip Tide) will be seeking to win the big race for the second time.