There was a keen sense of déjà vu at Gloucester Park on Friday night when Aiden de Campo drove the Ryan Bell-trained Shockwave to an effortless victory in the $25,000 Past Presidents Cup.
Shockwave’s victory rekindled memories of the 2009 Past Presidents Cup which was won by 12/1 chance Glencadam, who was driven expertly by Bell for de Campo’s father, Capel trainer Andrew de Campo to score a shock victory over the 7/1 on favourite Mysta Magical Mach.
Aiden de Campo was similarly skilful in the sulky on Friday night when he guided Shockwave, the $1.50 favourite from the No. 6 barrier, to victory over the fast-finishing Mighty Conqueror ($11) and Perfect Major ($15).
The five-year-old WA-bred Shockwave settled in eighth position before de Campo sent him forward, three wide, after 600m to move into the breeze while the freewheeling Patronus Star ($3.70) set a brisk pace. De Campo finally gave Shockwave his head and the handsome stallion stormed to the front with 250m to travel.
The final quarters were run in 27.6sec. and 28sec. and Shockwave rated 1.54, which broke the race record rate of 1.54.3 set by four-year-old Run Oneover in 2016. The win took Shockwave’s record to 46 starts for 18 wins, 17 placings and stakes of $499,690.
“Aiden said that Shockwave won pretty arrogantly, and he didn’t pull the plugs,” said Bell, who added that future plans for the star pacer were up in the air because of the ongoing uncertainty surrounding interstate travel due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I would love to take Shockwave to Melbourne for the Victoria Cup at Melton in October; it is one of my favourite races. But the last thing we want to do is to get stuck somewhere and not be able to get back home.”
It is now becoming increasingly likely that Shockwave will remain in Western Australia where he will be a major player in the rich Fremantle Cup and WA Pacing Cup in the summer.
by Ken Casellas