Ultra-consistent four-year-old Parmesan bounced back to his best form with an excellent all-the-way victory in the Group 3 $30,000 Pure Steel Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
His win at $3.60 by more than a length over Plutonium made amends for his shock first-up failure as a $1.34 favourite when he set the pace and wilted to fourth behind Vespa in a 2536m event a fortnight earlier.
Star reinsman Ryan Warwick was pleasantly surprised at the New Zealand-bred pacer’s convincing win, saying: “I thought he was ordinary and was pretty disappointing first-up, even though his work before that run was good. His work since has been exceptional, so maybe we were just two weeks out.
“I probably fought him a bit too much at his previous start, and tonight I let him free roll a bit. He’s a winner and his record is pretty good. He is not purely a frontrunner. He has won plenty of races from behind.”
Parmesan, prepared by leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond, has done all his racing in Western Australia and boasts an impressive record of 27 starts for 15 wins, four placings and stakes of $77,322. He has won seven races at Pinjarra, five at Gloucester Park, two at Bunbury and one at Northam.
Parmesan, by Betterthancheddar, is the second foal out of the unraced Mach Three mare Tristar Brigade. Warwick took full advantage of the prized No. 1 barrier, and Parmesan, who races with his head held low, was untroubled to jump straight to the front, and last-start winner Alta Intrigue moved to the breeze in the first lap.
Then, Alta Blues, reappearing after a 19-week absence, dashed forward, three wide after 650m, to move to the breeze after a lap and apply some pressure to the leader. However, Parmesan was never seriously tested and won with something in hand.
by Ken Casellas