Ken Casellas | Photo: Pacepix
Boyanup trainer Justin Prentice continues to enthuse over the manner in which Rolling Fire is progressing towards a serious tilt at winning the $200,000 WA Derby on November 3.
“He probably will have one more run before getting ready for the Derby,” he said after Gary Hall Jnr had driven Rolling Fire, the $1.04 favourite, to an impressive all-the-way victory over Velocipede and All Is Well in the 2130m Channel 7 Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“He is a lazy horse, and it was not ideal to be out there on his own, out in front by himself.”
After a slow lead time of 38.9sec. and a dawdling opening 400m section of 31.9sec. Rolling Fire ran the next 400m in 29sec. before sprinting over the final quarters in 28sec. and 27.6sec.
Purchased for $31,000 at the Melbourne Nutrien yearling sale in 2021 and raced by a syndicate headed by Gloucester Park Harness Racing chief executive Michael Radley, Rolling Fire has earned $73,879 from eight wins and a second placing from 13 starts.
He is by American sire Roll With Joe and is out of the Badlands Hanover mare Incendio, who had 21 starts (all in WA) for six wins, 21 placings and $56,635 in prizemoney. Hall drove Incendio once, for a fourth placing behind Shez Lockets Rocket at Kellerberrin in August 2011.