Ken Casellas | Photo: Pacepix
“It’s nice when a plan works,” said star reinsman Gary Hall Jnr after driving $5.70 chance Mr Fantastic to victory in the 2130m Retravision Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Mr Fantastic, trained at Boyanup by Justin Prentice, fared poorly in the random draw when he drew barrier No. 9 on the outside of the front line.
“Last week we drove him with a sit, and he didn’t run on (when seventh behind Carabao),” said Prentice. “Junior rang me today and suggested that he should have a crack for the lead, and I thought it would be worthwhile.”
So, Hall decided to go ahead with his plan, and Mr Fantastic mustered sufficient early speed to dash straight to the front before the five-year-old relaxed with opening 400m sections of 31.1sec. and 29.8sec. before sprinting the final quarters in 28.4sec. and 28.6sec. his way to beating Master Publisher ($3.90) by a half-length, rating 1.57.2.
The New Zealand-bred Mr Fantastic is by Bettors Delight and is the second foal out of the Art Major mare Its All On, whose first foal Bettor Get It On has earned $191,675 from eleven win and 19 placings from 51 starts. The most important of her nine WA wins was the Group 2 Empress Stakes in April 2022 when she defeated Savvy Bromac.
Mr Fantastic has been lightly raced and he has earned $116,465 from 12 wins and four placings from 29 starts. He won four times at Alexandra Park from 12 New Zealand starts in 2020.