Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
“Drive him like you have stolen him,” was the unusual but explicit instruction to star reinsman Gary Hall Jnr from Valbonne’s owner-trainer Lisa Walton before he left the birdcage to contest the 1730m Celebrating Jimmy Glennie’s 60TH Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Hall correctly interpreted this advice and he planned to set Valbonne on fire from out wide at barrier seven. Valbonne began like a bullet and led his pursuers on a merry dance on his way to an extremely easy all-the-way victory at a brisk 1.55.1 rate.
Valbonne, unplaced at his previous eight starts, was the second fancy at $7.20, with most punters relying on Twobob Cracker, the $1.40 favourite from the No. 1 barrier.
Twobob Cracker was beaten for early speed by Valbonne and the $12 chance The Kraken, who began speedily from the outside barrier in the field of nine but was unable to wrest the early lead from the flying Valbonne.
Twobob Cracker was then relegated to the position behind Valbonne before Shannon Suvaljko eased him off the pegs at the bell, forcing Pierre Whitby three wide. Valbonne sped over the final 400m sections in 28.7sec. and 28.4sec. and won by four lengths from The Kraken, with Twobob Cracker fighting on, out wide, to finish third.
Valbonne, a seven-year-old by Mach Three, is the second foal out of unraced New Zealand mare Sayang, and he now boats a record of 108 starts for 16 wins, 25 placings and $178,373. For Walton, he has had 29 starts for three wins and ten placings.