Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
New Zealand import Holy Hecka is the least experienced runner in the All New Foton Diesel Trucks Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night, but he possesses the raw ability to beat his more seasoned rivals and win the 2536m event.
Holy Hecka, trained by Mike Reed and to be driven by Shannon Suvaljko, has won at two of his six starts, while his seven opponents have won 33 races between them. He is favourably drawn at the No. 2 barrier.
Holy Hecka gave a sample of his class at Gloucester Park last Saturday night when, at his second appearance in Western Australia he obliterated his eight rivals in a 2130m event in which he won by twelve lengths from the pacemaker Farriers, rating 2.1.
He was restrained from barrier seven and then moved to the one-out, one-back position after 400m before going to the breeze after a lap and then scorching to the front 570m from home and careering away to leave the opposition struggling in his wake. He sped over the final 400m sections in 28.3sec. and 27.9sec.
This followed his sound WA debut eight nights earlier when he raced three back on the pegs and was hampered for room and finished third behind Hotly Pursued and Crowd Control.
That was Holy Hecka’s first start since he scored a brilliant victory, rating 1.58.4 over 1980m at Addington in February this year. He charged home from seventh at the 400m to burst to the front in the final 50m to win, unextended, by two lengths from the pacemaker Adesanya. The final 800m was covered in 57.1sec. and the last 400m was 28.2sec.
There is abundant ability among his rivals on Friday night, with last-start winners Crowd Control, Sweet Lucifer and Frisky Styx all capable of figuring prominently in the finish.
The Kim Prentice-trained Crowd Control was a dashing all-the-way winner at a 1.57.8 rate last Tuesday week when he beat Ronald Scott by six lengths.
The Michael Young-trained Sweet Lucifer is on the way up and he impressed when he raced wide early and then set the pace before winning by more than five lengths from Im Lord Logan last Saturday night.
Frisky Styx, trained by Ryan Bell and to be driven by Kyle Symington, is improving with every run, and he has scored impressive victories at Pinjarra and Gloucester Park at his past two runs. Symington continues to drive with considerable skill, and he notched his one hundredth winner for the season when he was successful with the Nathan Turvey-trained colt Beach Captain at Northam on Tuesday night.