Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Wishing Belle, the $1.40 favourite, revealed splendid fighting qualities to withstand constant pressure from the $4.80 second fancy Miss Red Velvet and go on to win the $35,000 North Coast Fibreglass Gold Bracelet from that filly at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Wishing Belle, trained by Aiden De Campo, drew away from her arch rival in the closing stages to win by just under two lengths, rating 1.56.3 over the 1730m which broke the race record rate of 1.56.5 set by Highview Heidi last year.
The victory came as some compensation for reinsman Trent Wheeler, who was disappointed when he drove the $1.70 favourite Reinette in last year’s Gold Bracelet when she set the pace before wilting to finish fourth.
Wheeler, who had finished third with Remarkable Rock in the 2023 Gold Bracelet, gained the drive behind Wishing Belle when De Campo was suspended for 21 days for causing interference in a recent event. However, Wishing Belle’s victory gave De Campo good reason to celebrate his 33RD birthday on Sunday.
Wheeler took full advantage of the No. 1 barrier by dashing Wishing Belle straight to the front and getting the filly to relax with a modest lead time of 8.5sec. and a comfortable opening quarter of 30.5sec. before Kyle Symington applied plenty of pressure from the breeze with Miss Red Velvet.
This resulted in strong 400m sections of 29.6sec., 28.6sec. and 27.9sec. and the victory took Wishing Belle’s record to three starts for two wins and one second placing from three starts for stakes of $48,509.
De Campo, who drove Some Copper Beach (trained by his father Andrew) for her win in the 2019 Gold Bracelet, purchased Wishing Belle for $55,000 at the 2024 Perth APG yearling sale on behalf of several stable clients.
Wishing Belle is by American sire Bettors Wish, who earned $2,781,240 from 24 wins and 17 placings from 44 starts in the United States. She is the seventh foal out of Christian Cullen mare Libertybelle Midfrew, who raced 51 times for 19 wins, 11 placings and $640,497. Her feature wins were in the 2014 WA Oaks, the Golden Nugget in December 2014, and the Mount Eden Sprint in October 2016.
Wheeler was full of praise for Wishing Belle’s ability and great competitive nature, saying: “Aiden said that she will try that little bit harder, and when Kyle (Symington) came at me, she was always just happy to keep going a little bit faster. She has a very good attitude.”