Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
One of Australasia’s superstar pacers in recent times is Copy That, and the appearance of his younger half-brother My Copy at his Australian debut at Gloucester Park on Friday night deserves great attention.
My Copy, a winner at seven of his 57 New Zealand starts, will be having his first start for Mardella trainer Michael Young and star reinsman Gary Hall Jnr when he begins from the 10m mark in the 2503m Retravision, Buy Now, Pay Later Handicap.
He is certainly not in the same class as his illustrious half-brother Copy That, who has amassed $2,019,937 from 33 wins and 18 placings from 68 starts.
Copy That has won six group 1 feature events, six at group 2 level, three in group 3s and one in a listed $100,000 event. His group 1 victories have been in the 3200m New Zealand Cup at Addington in 2021 and 2022, the 2021 Taylor Mile and the Messenger Free-For-All at Alexandra Park in 2021, the Sunshine Sprint at Albion Park in July 2021 when he beat King Of Swing by a nose and the Ballarat Cup in January 2022.
My Copy certainly stands well in the shade below Copy That, but he has a reasonable New Zealand record of seven wins, eight seconds, two thirds and stakes of $89,400 from 57 starts. He is by former star pacer Highview Tommy, who earned $990,015 from 17 wins and 27 placings from 104 starts. His two wins from seven Australian appearances included a memorable victory over Sushi Sushi and Smoken Up in the 2012 Ballarat Cup.
My Copy has not been produced at trials in WA, and all eyes will be on him when he lines up in the standing start event in which the Chris Voak-trained Caliente is the likely favourite from the inside barrier on the front line, with star reinsman Chris Lewis planning to repeat the gelding’s success of two starts ago when he led all the way in a stand and won from Brickies Dream and Coney Island Lou.
Brickies Dream, trained and driven by Robbie Williams, will start from the 10m mark on Friday night and should fight out the finish.
Boyanup trainer Justin Prentice holds a powerful hand in the $31,000 Pat Cranley Memorial Free-For-All over 2536m, with Tricky Miki drawing the prized No. 1 barrier and Jawsoflincoln, a dashing winner at three of his past four starts, favourably drawn at barrier No. 3.
Prentice will drive Jawsoflincoln and Gary Hall Jnr will drive Tricky Miki, who has been unplaced at his four starts since he led from the No. 1 barrier and defeated Lavra Joe in a Free-For-All on October 18.
Life will not be easy for the Prentice pair who are sure to meet with stiff opposition from Jumpingjackmac (barrier seven) and Lavra Joe (barrier nine).
Jumpingjackmac, trained by Gary Hall Snr and driven by Stuart McDonald, led from barrier six in a 2130m Free-For-All last Friday night and rated 1.55.5 when he beat Lavra Joe by a neck, with Never Ending a length farther back in third place.