Ken Casellas | Photo: Club Menangle/Pacepix
Champion Victorian trainer Andy Gath is looking forward to his outstanding five-year-old Catch A Wave gaining vital experience of racing on the 804m Gloucester Park track on Friday night when the gelding contests the $31,000 Sky Racing Free-For-All over 2130m.
“I’m keen for him to race at Gloucester Park a week before the Nullarbor, to see if he is able to handle the track okay,” said Gath, whose 2839 winners include a remarkable 57 at Group 1 level.
“It’s a learning curve for the horse, for the trainer and the driver, but I can’t see any problems. My track is 800 metres and Catch A Wave gets around it pretty good.”
Catch A Wave will be driven by Gath’s wife Kate, who has handled the pacer in all of his 35 starts for 20 wins (five in Group 1 events), seven placings and stakes of $1,298,130.
Kate Gath will be driving at Gloucester Park for the first time. She will drive Navy Street in race two on the program, the 2130m JP Pacing Pace, and after the Free-For-All she will be in the sulky behind Flyin Disco in the $100,000 Westbred Classic for four-year-old entires and geldings.
Andy Gath is hoping for his initial success in Western Australia at his third visit as a trainer at Gloucester Park. He started the Fake Left filly Sky Rainbow when Jodie Quinlan drove her into fourth place behind Onassis Legacy in the WA Oaks in May 2003, and at his previous visit his four-year-old Little I Do finished eighth behind Countess Kala in the Golden Nugget in December 1999.
Catch A Wave will be having his first start since he began speedily, set the pace and won a 1720m Free-For-All from Better Eclipse at Melton last Saturday week. He rated 1.52 after sprinting over the final quarters in 27.7sec. and 26sec.
Catch A Wave will begin from the No. 2 barrier in Friday night’s race, a draw which Gath described as “ideal” and a perfect lead into the $1,250,000 Nullarbor slot race the following Friday night.
“He probably will be driven as a sit-sprinter, and we want him to hit the line strongly,” he said. “He will need the run, and he is so much better racing week after week. He looks well and is in good order.
“He is well but a bit tired after arriving in Perth by air from Sydney on Monday night. It was a pretty long trip, with the flight coming after I had taken him by road from Melbourne to Sydney last Sunday.”
Catch A Wave has revealed his class with Group 1 victories in the Crown Classic for two-year-olds over 2240m at Melton in November 2021, and over 1609m in the Chariots Of Fire (1.49.1) and the Miracle Mile (1.48.8) in February and March last year.
He has raced only four times in races beyond 2240m, and was unplaced at all four of those runs.
“But I don’t expect the 2536m of the Nullarbor to pose a problem,” said Gath. “If you looked at the results of those four longer-distant events you would say he’s no good.”
He had no luck when seventh in a 2760m heat of the Victoria Derby at Melton in October 2022, he hadn’t eaten for two days before his eighth in the 2400m Eureka at Menangle in September 2023, he finished fourth in the 2710m Ballarat Cup in January this year, and he choked down before finishing last in the 2760m Hunter Cup at Melton in February this year.
“I don’t think that the distance of the Nullarbor will be a concern for him,” said Gath. “His main strength is his speed; he has unbelievable speed. He is also quick out of the gate.”
Another Nullarbor runner, Jumpingjackmac, will start from the outside barrier (No. 3) on the back line in Friday night’s race, and Stuart McDonald is sure to make full use of the six-year-old excellent sit-sprint ability.
Jumpingjackmac, trained by Gary Hall Snr, finished third behind Betterzippit and Spirit Of St Louis in the inaugural Nullarbor event twelve months ago, and he was most impressive when he finished powerfully to win the 2569m Bunbury Cup from Pinny Tiger and Swingband two starts ago.
An interesting runner in Friday night’s race will be To Fast To Serious, who will be making his first appearance in WA since finishing sixth behind Magnificent Storm in the Brennan Memorial at Gloucester Park on November 11, 2022.
Trainer-reinsman Dylan Egerton-Green is expecting a strong performance from the WA-bred eight-year-old, following an excellent trial when second to Steno in a 2185m trial at Pinjarra on Wednesday of last week.
To Fast To Serious, who is handily drawn at barrier No. 3 on the front line, set a fast pace in the trial in which the final 400m sections were run in 28.9sec., 26.6sec. and 27.5sec. Steno, who raced three back on the pegs in the field of four, took the lead in the final 25m and rated 1.54.6.
“It was a good trial, and he should be able to hold his own in this company,” said Egerton-Green.
Egerton-Green took To Fast To Serious to Melbourne for the Interdominion Championship series in November and December 2022, and then the gelding continued his career in New South Wales where he had six starts for a win at Newcastle and five unplaced efforts.
“He was plagued by bad barriers (No. 6 twice, No. 9 twice and the back line once),” said Egerton-Green.
Diego, trained by Hall Snr, finished sixth in last year’s Nullarbor, and he is sure to appreciate the coveted No. 1 barrier in Friday night’s race in which he will be driven by Maddison Brown, who chose to drive the gelding this week ahead of the outstanding Justin Prentice-trained Tricky Miki and her father’s runner Arma Einstein.
Hall Jnr will drive Tricky Miki from the outside barrier (No. 9) on the front line, while Trent Wheeler has been engaged for Arma Einstein (barrier two).
The Greg and Skye Bond-trained Steel The Show, who finished fourth in last year’s Nullarbor, will be driven by Deni Roberts from the No. 4 barrier. He is capable of improvement after unplaced efforts at his first two appearances after a spell.