Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Veteran superstar Pacer Magnificent Storm is poised to be a major player in the upcoming rich summer feature events, notably the $450,000 WA Pacing Cup, the $1.2 million Nullarbor slot race and the $300,000 Fremantle Cup.
That’s the obvious conclusion after the sensational nine-year-old resumed after a spell in dazzling style at Gloucester Park on Friday night when he overcame the disadvantage of the outside barrier (No. 9) on the front line to score an easy win in the 1730m $9 Swan Draught Pints Free-For-All.
He was the $1.50 favourite who settled at the rear before racing in the breeze and winning by more than a length from the $7 second fancy Bettors Pride, rating a slick 1.52.8. The quarters of the final mile were run in 28.3sec., 28.7sec., 28.4sec. and 28.5sec.
“He looks a bit fat, but in fact he is nice and hard and returned with a heart rate of just 85,” said his trainer Ray Williams.
“The Pacing Cup and the Nullarbor, that’s the dream, providing he stays sound. I was planning to give him three or four runs in August and then giving him a couple of weeks off before getting him ready to race in November and the Pacing Cup in December. The $50,000 August Cup in three weeks’ time is on the cards, but it all depends on how he pulls up after tonight’s run.”
Before Friday night’s event Williams and reinsman Aiden De Campo were undecided about what tactics to employ, with Williams saying: “I expected him to go good first-up but when he drew nine, I thought we should go back at the start.
“Aiden reckoned that we should go forward, and in the end, he made the right decision which he normally does.”
De Campo said: “Pre-race I was planning to launch Magnificent Storm, but in the warm-up, I thought better of it. And then I probably made the wrong move. I anticipated the pace coming off (slackening) and when I got to the breeze the leader (Beach Diamond) was pulling quite hard.
“So, I had to work hard from the 1200m to the thousand, around that corner, to get to the breeze. Lucky, he was good enough.
“He is a funny horse. He knows what it is like first-up and second-up when he thinks it is all a game. He comes out and is pricking his ears in the warm-up and travels kindly on the bit. Then as soon as he gets a couple of runs under his belt, he gets sharper and sharper and puts his head on his chest. He knows when it is game time.”
Magnificent Storm settled down in eleventh position before De Campo sent him forward, with a sharp three-wide burst after 550m to get to race without cover with about 900m to travel. He surged to the front 270m from home and won by 4m from Bettors Pride, who ran home solidly after trailing the pacemaker Beach Diamond, who wilted to finish eighth.
Magnificent Storm shows no signs of losing his brilliance, and he is sure to improve on his record of 79 starts for 49 wins, 15 placings and $1,820,487 in stakes.