Ken Casellas | Photo: Gloucester Park Harness Racing
Pinjarra trainer Ian Foley has called on the services of champion reinsman Chris Lewis to drive Misstiano in the aptly named $30,000 Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night in a bid to end the mare’s losing sequence of 26.
Lewis has driven the six-year-old Misstiano six times in her 54-start career for two wins, two thirds and two unplaced runs. It is significant that Lewis was in the sulky for Misstiano’s most recent victory — when she rated 1.56.5 to defeat Alice Kay and Sweet Maddison over 2130m at Gloucester Park on January 7, 2022.
Misstiano resumed after an eleven-week absence when she started out wide at barrier No. 8 in a 1730m event last Friday night. She raced in eighth position in the one-wide line and caught the eye when she went six wide on the home turn and ran on to finish seventh behind Watching Our Coin.
Misstiano is handily drawn at barrier three on Friday night with the two main fancies, Acharne Girl and Blaze Coops, on the back line in the 2130m event.
Acharne Girl, trained by Gary Hall Snr and to be driven by his son Gary Hall Jnr, is in brilliant form and should prove extremely hard to beat, despite starting from the inside of the back line.
She has had six starts in her current campaign, winning in fine style at the first five of those runs before finishing seventh behind Wonderful To Fly in the group 3 Kerry Clarke Pace last Friday night when she started from the back line, raced in tenth position and surged home with a dashing late four-wide burst.
Hall Jnr conceded that drawing the inside barrier on the back line posed problems, but he still considered Acharne Girl was his best winning prospect on the night.
“She only needed a barrier draw to be a moral,” he said. “But she can still win from barrier ten.”
Hall drove Blaze Coops for trainer Shane Tognolini at Gloucester Park on Tuesday night when the five-year-old started from barrier seven and gave a dashing frontrunning performance to win by four lengths from Extraordinary Mary, rating 1.57 over 2130m.
Blaze Coops will start from the No. 2 barrier on the back line on Friday night and will be driven by Shannon Suvaljko, who said: “She has come back better and is a lot more settled after having a break. She is just as good with a sit than she is when leading.”
Coolup trainer Michael Brennan has two runners engaged, Miss Lamarr (barrier five) and Miss Sassy (barrier eight). Chris Voak will drive Miss Lamarr, and Aiden will handle Miss Sassy.
“Miss Lamarr is not without a chance if she has luck in running,” said Voak, who also gives Jackie Daniels a good each-way prospect in the opening event, the 2130m Beau Rivage Christmas In July Pace.
Jackie Daniels, trained by David Young, has been placed at three of her past four starts and will begin from the inside of the back line. “She is getting better and stronger, and if she can get clear late, she can definitely win,” he predicted.
Jackie Daniels is one of several smart three-year-old fillies in this event in which the Michael Young-trained Sporting Grace (barrier five) will have many admirers after winning at the first two of her three West Australian starts after one win from eight Victorian appearances.
Sporting Grace warmed up for this event in great style with a runaway win in a 2185m trial at Pinjarra on June 15. She trailed the pacemaker This Time Jacko before dashing to the front 650m from home and careering away to beat Bettor Finish by 15 lengths, with final quarters of 28.8sec. and 28.4sec.
“Barrier five is not a good draw, but she should be thereabouts,” said reinsman Gary Hall Jnr.