Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Veteran pacer Machnificent ended an 18-month drought and broke a losing sequence of 24 when he snatched a thrilling last-stride win in the $25,000 Fresh Hits and Throwbacks on Nova Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Though the eight-year-old had been unplaced at his previous 18 starts, he shared favouritism at $4 with Insta Gator, mainly because he had drawn the prized No.1 barrier.
Lucca (barrier three) and Cams Boulder (barrier nine) beat out Machnificent but were unable to cross to the front, and Machnificent led for the first 450m before Trent Wheeler was happy to surrender the front to $10 chance Lucca after a fast lead time of 35.3sec.
Insta Gator raced in the breeze and Machnificent was hopelessly hemmed in behind Lucca and was blocked for a clear passage before Insta Gator began to wilt about 130m from the post, and then Wheeler was able to get Machnificent into the clear.
Machnificent sprinted strongly to overhaul Lucca, a $10 chance, right on the line and win by a head, rating 1.56.8. Tiger Royal ($12) sustained a spirited three-wide burst to finish a neck farther back in third place, just a nose in front of the fast-finishing $19 chance Hale Saint Louie.
Machnificent was having his 13TH start for veteran Byford trainer Peter Anderson, and he improved his record to 97 starts for 19 wins, 19 placings and $320,48 in prizemoney. His most notable victory was in the Group 2 Nights Of Thunder when he rated 1.52.4 in beating Ideal Agent by a head over 1730m in January 2022.
“Trevor Warwick and Ross Waddell bought him for $20,000 at the 2019 APG Perth yearling sale and when Trevor got out of the game last year, Ross bought out Trevor’s share, and had the horse gelded and gave him six months off before he gave him to me train,” said Anderson.
“Machnificent has been drawing out wide but was still going good, and drawing one tonight emphasised the advantage of inside barriers at Gloucester Park. He is a beautiful old horse and is 100 per cent sound.”
Anderson, who turns 69 in November, has trained about 960 winners. “I’d love to get to a thousand,” he said.
Machnificent is by Mach Three and is the sixth foal out of Northern Luck mare Honorable Daughter, who finished at the rear at her six starts during a two-month period in 2010 when she was handled by six different drivers.
Honorable Daughter is out of New Zealand-bred mare Mulan, a winner of three minor events from 20 starts, and is a half-sister to ten winners, including Changeover (66 starts for 29 wins, 16 placings and $2,321,676) and Change Stride (258 starts for 46 wins, 77 placings and $769,254), with 15 of his victories being achieved in WA in 2015 and 2016.