Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
The calm and cooling influence of Maddison Brown and her skill in the sulky paved the way for temperamental six-year-old Hotly Pursued to return to his best form and win the $31,000 Joe and Margaret Petricevich Memorial Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Hotly Pursued, bred and owned by Banjup trainer Murray Lindau and his partner Claire McNaughton, threw off his habit of being virtually uncontrollable in the mobile score-ups and in his races when he enjoyed Brown’s patient handling.
For Brown, having her first drive behind Hotly Pursued at his 44TH start, it revived memories of her two wins with the gelding’s dam Besos Baci a decade ago when that New South Wales-bred mare was prepared by Lindau and was owned by him and Ms McNaughton.
Brown’s wins with Besos Baci included the mare’s victory as a $35.40 outsider over Tajies Boy at Northam in August 2015. This was Besos Baci’s second-last start before being retired to the breeding barn where her only progeny to race is Hotly Pursued, who now has earned $217,439 from 13 wins and 13 placings from 44 starts. Besos Baci earned $53,397 from eight wins and 14 placings from 57 starts.
Hotly Pursued, a solidly supported $2.70 favourite, dashed straight to the front from the No. 4 barrier after withstanding a challenge from $34 chance Rockandrollartist. After opening quarters of 30.4sec. and 29.4sec. Hotly Pursued was joined by $4.20 chance Beter Eclipse, who had begun from the outside of the front line and quickly settled in sixth position, one-out and two-back.
Hotly Pursued was having his third start after a three-month absence, with Lindau explaining that this was because he had misbehaved badly at his two previous starts at Gloucester Park in October.
“Half way through the score-up in the first of these two races Hotly Pursued started to put the boots in and he missed the kick by a long way before making up 40 to 50 metres to finish sixth,” said Lindau. “A week later he began from barrier nine and he stuck the boots in 20 metres after the start, and he took a chunk out of his off fore heel. The heel was awfully tender, and we treated him with anti-biotics before he was able to resume racing.
“Tonight, we tried something different. I asked Maddy to take him on to the track and walk him slowly around on the outside and then let him decide when he wanted to take off (in the preliminary). He did try to misbehave a bit, but Maddy was able to quickly get him back to a walk.”
Hotly Pursued accelerated with a lap to travel and dashed over the final 800m in 56.7sec. to win by a length and a half from Better Eclipse, with Wonderful To Fly ($6) a length back in third place.
Lindau is currently preparing five pacers as well as a dressage horse, Chiaroscuro, a former pacer he trained and was part-owned by Ms McNaughton.
Chiaroscuro, a gelding by Art Major, was retired in the winter of 2021 with a record of 84 starts for 17 wins, 28 placings and $231,127. He is now 12 years old and is a star in para-equestrian events in which he is ridden by Ms McNaughton.