Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Brilliant frontrunner and hot $1.50 favourite Rumour Has It had to produce a flying final 400m of 27sec. to hold on and win by a half-head from the breeze runner Three Rumours ($5) in the 2130m Catalano Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The lightly-raced six-year-old is racing with such spirit for trainer Debra Lewis and star reinsman Chris Lewis that she is looming as a strong candidate for the $75,000 Empress Stakes over 2536m on April 19.
Rumour Has It, by American stallion Roll With Joe, is the eighth foal out of the Christian Cullen mare Roustabout, who sat behind the pacemaker and 5/4 favourite Sovereign Beejay before finishing strongly to win from Precious Maiden and Sovereign Beejay in the 2548m Empress Stakes in March 2006.
Rumour Has It is in the best form of her career which now stands at 26 starts for eleven wins, seven placings and $132,685.
Three Rumours, trained by Nathan Turvey and driven by Gary Hall Jnr, notched her third consecutive second placing and will pay to follow. She started from the outside in the field of five on Friday night and raced without cover before finishing with great determination.