Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
“It’s been a long road, and we just want to see him as good as we know he can be,” said trainer Justin Prentice when discussing former superstar Never Ending’s prospects of breaking a 25-month drought when he contests the $31,000 WATA Members Sprint over 1730m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Six-year-old Never Ending has a losing sequence of 14 and he has managed just one placing from his past ten starts, and though he has finished an eighth and a seventh at his first two runs in his current campaign Prentice is confident the WA-bred gelding will break through for a much-anticipated victory.
He has drawn favourably at barrier two and star reinsman Gary Hall Jnr will be anxious to use his good gate speed in a bid to set the pace and go on to win the race.
“This is the first good draw he has had for quite a while,” said Prentice. “Regarding his two runs in this preparation it has been hard to get a gauge on how he is going because he has sat back in last place.
“Times indicate he went really well, and Junior (Hall) has been happy with the way he has felt. Never Ending’s work has been better over the past fortnight than it has been throughout this preparation.
“I don’t talk tactics with Junior, but I expect he will want to come out (at the start). During Never Ending’s previous preparation he put in some good runs and some disappointing ones. Since he returned from Sydney two years ago, he has had health issues, and it has been hard for him to get over them.”
Never Ending began out wide at barrier No. 8 last Friday week when he raced in last position in a field of eleven before fighting on solidly to finish seventh behind Magnificent Storm, who rated 1.54.6 over 2130m after dashing over the final 400m sections in 27.5sec. and 27.2sec.
Adding considerable interest in Friday night’s race will be the appearance of Harrison John, who will be making his Australian debut after having raced 34 times in New Zealand for seven wins, eight seconds, four thirds and $226,975 in prizemoney.
Harrison John, who will be driven by Deni Roberts for champion trainers Greg and Skye Bond, will start from the No. 6 barrier. He is a sprint specialist, having rated 1.52.8 in winning over 1609m at Addington in April last year, as well as winning over 1700m at Ashburton and four times over 1980m at Addington. His other victory was in a 2600m stand.
“I haven’t sat behind Harrison John yet, and from what I have seen of him he looks a very nice horse,” said Roberts. “I hadn’t driven Minstrel before I drove him in a race for the first time (when he finished a half-length second to Glenledi Chief in a 2536m Free-For-All on February 24, 2023).”
Star pacer Penny Black, the only mare in the field of twelve, is sure to be prominent, following her excellent second to Delightful Peg over 2130m last Friday night when racing second-up after a spell. She will begin from barrier four for trainer Michael Young and driver Emily Suvaljko.
Champion trainer Gary Hall Snr has three runners in the race, with his best prospect expected to be Sweet Pins, to be driven by Stuart McDonald. Sweet Pins, who will start from the inside of the back line, ran home strongly from seventh at the bell to finish third behind Magnificent Storm and Soho Shakedown last Friday night.
Hall’s other runners face tough tasks from wide draws, with Youre So Fine (Dylan Egerton-Green) at No. 8, and Alta Tribute (Maddison Brown) at No. 9.