Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Veteran pacer Jack Farthing ended an eight-month drought when he began brilliantly from barrier five, set the pace and was not extended in winning the 1730m Cowdens Insurance Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The eight-year-old was a $33.60 outsider who was driven confidently by Kyle Symington for Baskerville trainer Ryan Bell. After modest opening quarters of 30.6sec. and 30.1sec. Jack Farthing dashed over the final 400m sections in 27.9sec. and 27.1sec. to win by 4m from $7.50 chance Pradason, who trailed the pacemaker throughout. Machnificent, the $2 favourite, enjoyed an ideal passage in the one-out, one-back position before fighting on to finish third.
“He hasn’t been blessed with a great deal of racing luck since I’ve had him,” said Bell. “And I’ve also had a few minor issues with him. He is a good frontrunner, and he will continue racing until he tells us he has had enough. Maybe we will look at the Pinjarra Cup next month.
“Tonight’s event was probably the softest conditioned race that has been run for a long time, and we were the lucky ones to have the gate speed to set the pace.
“There has been only one run in which we were disappointed since we have had him, and that was due to a trainer error. He looks big in condition, but he seems to like it that way.”
Jack Farthing has won at four of his 27 WA starts and he has earned $232,997 from 20 wins and 18 placings from 92 starts.
Bell is now looking forward to Shockwave’s return to racing, with the 2019 Golden Nugget winner back in full work. “He’s good and has had a couple of hoppled runs,” said Bell. “Fingers crossed, he will stay sound and healthy.
“He did a tendon a couple of years ago, and I had him back, up to hoppling stage last October when he started to go in his knees again, and had to have keyhole surgery to remove spurs and chips in his knees. Hopefully, he will be ready to resume racing about Easter time.”