Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Star WA-bred five-year-old Mighty Ronaldo gets an ideal opportunity to return to the winning list when he starts from the coveted No. 1 barrier in the $30,000 DTS All Your Civil And Construction Supply Needs Free-For-All at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Brilliant young driver Emily Suvaljko said that the Justin Prentice-trained Mighty Ronaldo was unlucky in finishing third behind Lavra Joe and Magnificent Storm in the 2569m Bunbury Cup last Saturday, and that she was hoping to take advantage of the ideal draw in what should produce superb action in the gelding’s clash with several outstanding pacers, including Lavra Joe, Magnificent Storm, Jumpingjackmac and Steel The Show.
Mighty Ronaldo began from the inside of the back line in the Bunbury Cup and raced four back on the pegs in seventh position for most of the journey before getting clear in late stages and finishing strongly along the sprint lane.
“We got into an awkward spot early,” she explained. “They went fast early and Mighty Ronaldo wasn’t able to hold the leader The Mustang’s back. I was held in a bit longer than I wanted to, and then he hit the line really good.
“Lavra Joe got home in 27.6sec., and Mighty Ronaldo got home a lot quicker (27.18sec.), with his final 200m being very fast. He felt super. This week I think he will come off quicker from the front line.
“Justin said that he always comes off the gate better off the front line than from the back line. I don’t think that his gate speed is an issue. It is a nice field on Friday night, and the barrier draw helps. Without having spoken to Justin yet, I would say that he would want to lead.”
In the Bunbury Cup Lavra Joe began from barrier seven on the front line and Chris Lewis dashed him to the lead after 450m. He then set a fast pace and sprinted over the final 400m sections in 28.6sec. and 27.6sec. to win by a length from Magnificent Storm, who began out wide at barrier eight, was eighth early and then surged forward to race without cover.
Magnificent Storm fought on grandly, and, once again, he will have to cover extra ground after starting from the outside in the field of eight on Friday night.
Lavra Joe, owned and trained by Ray Jones, gave Chris Lewis his ninth victory in the Bunbury Cup, with Lewis saying: “He went very nicely, and it showed that he is on the way back. From barrier seven I will definitely be playing things by ear, seeing what happens early. He should figure in the finish.”
Gary Hall Jnr said that he was looking forward keenly to resuming as the driver of Jumpingjackmac, a smart five-year-old prepared by his father Gary Hall Snr. Jumpingjackmac, a fast-finishing head second to Diego in the Pinjarra Cup two starts ago (after his close second to Diego in the WA Pacing Cup at his previous outing) will begin from the No. 4 barrier.
“It’s a good race and Jumpingjackmac is working super,” said Hall Jnr.
Adding considerable interest to the race will be the appearance of Steel The Show, a New Zealand-bred six-year-old who has not been extended in winning at his first four starts in Australia (all at Gloucester Park). Deni Roberts will again be in the sulky behind Steel The Show, who is trained by Greg and Skye Bond. Steel The Show possesses excellent gate speed and Roberts could well be tempted to make a strong early move to get to the front from Emily Suvaljko’s drive Mighty Ronaldo.
While Roberts and Suvaljko will be keen rivals on Friday night, they will be carrying the flag for Western Australia when they contest five of the six heats of the Australian Female Drivers’ Championship at Brisbane’s Albion Park on Saturday night.