Ken Casellas | Photo: Gloucester Park Harness Racing
Talented three-year-old High Price faces a stern test when he starts from the outside barrier in the field of nine in the 2130m Rock N Roll World Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
He warmed up for this assignment with a testing run in a 2130m event on Tuesday night when he started from barrier seven in a seven-horse field and challenged Jaxon Morgan for the lead before forging to the front after a fast lead time of 35.5sec.
High Price, driven by Gary Hall Jnr, then was able to reduce the tempo with opening quarters of the final mile in 30.8sec. and 29.6sec. The breeze horse, the four-year-old Ifeel Sikdarl, took a narrow lead 300m from home before he and High Price raced locked together for the rest of the race, with Ifeel Sikdarl gaining the verdict by a half-head, rating 1.57.1.
At his previous outing, a week earlier, High Price, from the outside barrier in a field of seven, was smartest to begin and got a length in front of the polemarker Bushwacked but was unable to cross to the front on the pegs. Hall then angled him across to take the trail behind Bushwacked before he started a three-wide move 250m from home and hit the front 60m from the post before winning easily from outsider Rollingdowntheriver.
Hall said that High Price faced a strong test from smart youngsters Infinite Sign, Dardy Boy and Hoppys Way.
Infinite Sign, to be driven by Dylan Egerton-Green for leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond, will begin from barrier six. He finished strongly when second to Beyond Bling at Pinjarra on Monday afternoon after winning at his three previous appearances, all at Pinjarra.
Infinite Sign led from barrier one when he beat High Price (who started from the back line and finished solidly from three back on the pegs) over 2185m at Pinjarra three starts ago.