Consistent five-year-old Henwood Bay has resumed racing after a spell in splendid form and he ended a losing sequence of 17 when he caused an upset as a $17.20 chance when he defeated the $1.20 favourite Diego by a head in the 2130m Westral Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Henwood Bay, prepared in Collie by Errol Ashcroft and driven confidently by Deni Roberts, worked in the breeze on the outside of the $26 pacemaker Beach Skipper before finishing determinedly to beat Diego and Beach Skipper in a three-way photo finish. The final 800m was covered in 56sec. and the winner rated 1.57.6.
Diego, who started from the back line, enjoyed an ideal passage in the one-out, one-back position before finishing gamely to notch his third successive third placing at Gloucester Park
Henwood Bay, a gelding by American stallion Fully Loaded, was making his third appearance after a spell, and was following the encouraging efforts of a second to Extradite and a fourth behind Thomson Bay. Friday night’s success improved his record to 85 starts for 16 wins and 24 placings for stakes of $104,472.
by Ken Casellas