Champion trainer Gary Hall snr insists that a pacer must have abundant natural speed before he purchases a horse on behalf of his band of faithful clients.
It was this special gift that persuaded Hall to buy the Victorian-bred Will I Rocknroll late last year, and the six-year-old stallion is living up to his promise and he gave a sample of his great speed when, driven with great skill by Gary Hall jnr, he produced a whirlwind burst to charge home from eighth at the 400m and sixth on the home turn to snatch a thrilling last-stride victory over the pacemaker and $3.60 equal favourite Bracken Sky in the 2536m Pacing For Pink Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“Peter Scarpino, a part-owner of Will I Rocknroll, tried to sell me a horse one day, and I said ‘no thanks; he’s got no speed.’ But if you ever get a horse who has speed, give me a call, and last year he rang me about Will I Rocknroll.
“So, I looked at his form, saw he had plenty of speed, and decided to buy him. He can’t handle the track here when he’s out wide, and he tries to throw the race away when the pressure goes on. He races with a pole, and he doesn’t like it, and that’s why he throws his head up like he did when crossing the line tonight.”
Will I Rocknroll had just won at what was his final race in Victoria, when he scored by five lengths, rating 1.52.8 over 1720m at Melton. A succession of wide barriers has badly affected Will I Rocknroll’s prospects in WA, and his win on Friday night was his second from 13 runs in the State.
“When he draws the fence, he will show that he is a fast beginner and he will lead and beat reasonable horses,” said Hall.
Both Will I Rocknroll’s two WA wins have been when he has started out wide at barrier No. 8 and has been saved up by Hall jnr for a devastating last-lap sprint.
Will I Rocknroll is out of the Mach Three mare Laughing Lilly, who raced 28 times for five wins (two in New Zealand and three in New South Wales) and 13 placings for stakes of $37,814.
Will I Rocknroll has now earned $98,177 from 13 wins and seven placings from 47 starts, and he is following in then footsteps of his younger half-brothers, five-year-old Kash Us Back (75 starts for 17 wins, 19 placings and $125,577) and three-year-old Kashed Up (23 starts for six wins, nine placings and $114,188). Kashed Up impressed three starts ago when he finished a half-head second to Idyllic in the group 1 $100,000 Gold Chalice final at Bathurst.
Written by: Ken Casellas | Photo Credit: Hamilton Content Creators