Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Talented reinsman Stuart McDonald is enjoying a remarkable run of success as a trainer, and when he drove Cloud Nine to victory in the 2536m Do Do More Wine Please Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night it took his record as a trainer this season to eight starters for six wins.
Cloud Nine’s victory followed McDonald’s recent wins as a trainer with Madame Publisher (three wins) and The State Of Art (two wins). And this win gave McDonald his 62ND driving success for the season, a tally which was boosted by a double with Stellar Edition and Lord Publisher at Northam on Saturday night.
Cloud Nine ($4.80) began from barrier No. 5 on Friday night and he settled down in seventh position before getting to the breeze in the first lap when Velocipede, the $2.30 favourite, was racing keenly out in front.
“It certainly wasn’t the plan to be in the breeze,” said McDonald. “So, I thought it had all gone pear shaped early. I didn’t think there would be anything to come up and give me cover.”
But when Rock Me Over ($31) dashed forward from the rear to go to the breeze after a lap Cloud Nine gained an ideal sit in the one-out, one-back position.
“I then thought we were a place chance, but the leader went a fair way unders and once he wasn’t travelling well at the top of the straight, I thought I had a good chance of winning,” said McDonald.
Cloud Nine, who was switched three wide with 250m to travel, finished strongly to hit the front 70m from the post on his way to winning by almost a length from Rock Me Over.
It is an interesting story how the Eastern States owners of the New Zealand-bred Cloud Nine sent the gelding to McDonald to race in Western Australia.
“I drove a horse (Stormont Czar) for these owners in a New South Wales Rising Stars event at Menangle in June 2016, and I won the race on protest after finishing second,” said McDonald.
Stormont Czar put up a remarkable performance after he met with severe interference 450m after the start and galloped badly. He was last in the field of ten 400m from home before he charged home, out seven wide, to finish second, a half-head behind Jilliby Jagger.
McDonald fired in a protest against the winner, and it was upheld. “Since then, I have kept in contact with the owners, Joe Carbone, who died last year, Jason Restagno and Rob Stevenson,” he said.
“They sent me Total Eclipse when I was in Melbourne a couple of years ago, and I gave her six starts as a trainer in early 2022 for two wins, at Melton and Bendigo, and two seconds. Then I gave Total Eclipse ten starts in WA for one win before she was injured in a paddock accident and had to be retired.”
Cloud Nine won twice in New Zealand, four times at Menangle and once at Melton before arriving in WA where his 25 starts for McDonald have produced three wins, six placings and $30,672 to improve his career record to 72 starts for ten wins, 16 seconds, three thirds and $124,191.