Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Tough New Zealand-bred stayer Harrison John gave further proof that he will be a worthy understudy to his multi-millionaire stablemate Minstrel in the $450,000 WA Pacing Cup over 2536m on December 11 when he outstayed his rivals in the $31,000 Barbagallo Maserati Kersley Free-For-All over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The Always B Miki five-year-old was great value at $8.40 from out wide at barrier eight when Deni Roberts paved the way for his victory with her early aggression.
Mighty Ronaldo ($4) dashed to the front from barrier three, while Roberts wasted no time in setting Harrison John alight and sending the gelding forward with a three-wide burst to get to the front after a lap.
And Roberts made life tough for the opposition with Harrison John charging over the final quarters in 28.1sec., 27.9sec. and 28.sec. on his way to winning by a half-length from Mighty Ronaldo, rating a smart 1.53.9.
Sweet Pins ($10) and Hugotastic ($23) caught the eye when they surged home from the rear to finish third and fifth, respectively, while the $2.20 favourite Magnificent Storm faded to finish sixth after racing without cover for much of the way
Harrison John is prepared by champion trainers Greg and Skye Bond and is currently ranked at No. 7 for the Pacing Cup, along with stablemates Minstrel (two), Golden Lode (three), We Walk By Faith (five), Mad Monday (eight) and Gee Heza Sport (11).
The Bond stable and Roberts brought up a treble on Friday night when Delulu ($5.20) overcame the disadvantage of starting from out wide at barrier eight by sustaining a three-wide burst from the rear approaching the bell to get up in the final stride to beat the $2.65 favourite Major Disco by a nose, with the pacemaker Ravenous Romeo ($4.60) a half-head farther back in third place.
Roberts, Aiden De Campo and Gary Hall jnr all drove three winners on the ten-event program. Hall was successful with Turbo Jay (race two), Ultimate Miki (race three) and Franco Motu (race seven).
Bunbury trainer Bob Mellsop said that Turbo Jay ($13.30) had been wonderfully consistent, and when Hall was able to send the four-year-old to the front from the No. 4 barrier in the Barbagallo Land Rover Pace over 2130m he was extremely confident the gelding would succeed once he was in his favourite role as a frontrunner.
Class prevailed when Ultimate Miki, the $2.80 second fancy in the 2536m Golden Nugget Consolation, overcame the disadvantage of starting out wide at barrier No. 7.
The talented four-year-old raced three wide for the first 500m before getting to the front and then dictating terms before winning easily by a length and a half from $31 outsider Control The Room, rating 1.56.4 after final 400m sections of 28.1sec. and 28.4sec.
Ultimate Miki, trained by Gary Hall Snr, has earned $78,848 from nine wins and five seconds from 19 starts, with Hall Jnr saying: “He is still learning and will be better with a few more runs under his belt.”
Franco Motu, trained by Hall Snr, looks set for many more wins after he began from the back mark of 30 metres and strolled to victory in the 2503m Aston Martin Handicap.
Franco Motu, the $1.70 favourite, was eighth after a lap before he started a three-wide move with 1450m to travel to move to the breeze, with his stablemate Seaside Pond ($6) setting the pace. Franco Motu got the upper hand and took the lead with about 80m travel and was not extended in beating the frontrunner by a length.
“He is quite a nice horse who did just what he needed to,” said Hall. The New Zealand-bred Franco Motu has earned $205,986 from ten wins and three placings from 19 starts.