Ken Casellas | PACEPIX
WA-bred five-year-old Heez Good As Gold is fitted with special three-quarter shoes on his hind hooves to prevent him from hitting his front feet, and he was at an apparent disadvantage when he was forced to race without his back shoes in the $23,000 HTA Taking You To New Heights Pace over 1730m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Heez Good As Gold, the warm $2.20 favourite from the No. 1 barrier, cast his nearside hind plate during his preliminary, forcing his driver Shannon Suvaljko to take him off the track and to have the off-side hind shoe removed to keep him properly balanced.
Heez Good As Gold won the start and after a fast opening quarter of 28.1sec. he was restrained to cover the next sections in 29.9sec., 29.3sec. and 29.6sec. before he held on to win by a head from $8.50 chance Tantabiddi, who was tenth at the bell before getting clear in the late stages and flying home between horses to just fail.
“After early challenges, he probably travelled too well,” said Suvaljko. “Then we had to hold the field, and that probably didn’t suit him, grabbing up which probably cut his wind off a bit. The ten horse (Goodtime Louis) was on our back and was the main danger, so I wanted to keep him in a pocket.”
Trainer Mike Reed was relieved after the narrow win, saying: “They went hard early and Heez Good As Gold was under a lot of pressure. And after the fast first quarter I thought we might be in trouble. I’m not sure that racing without his special rear shoes helped or hindered him.
“He bowed his nearside front tendon as a young horse. It wasn’t a bad bow, but I’ve never seen a good one yet. His leg now seems to be okay.”
Heez Good As Gold was bought by Jim Giumelli’s Swandoo Harness Racing syndicate for $50,000 at the 2021 Perth APG yearling sale, and the Rich And Spoilt gelding has earned $74,598 from six wins and nine placings from 43 starts.