Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Soho Dow Jones has been plagued by bad barriers for most of his 12 starts for astute trainer Kim Prentice — and the three-year-old is again faced with a tough barrier at No. 7 in the opening event, the 2130m Go One Better With Westral Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
After winning at four of his ten Victorian starts Soho Dow Jones has performed admirably for Prentice, with four wins and four placings.
He warmed up for Friday night’s assignment in fine style with a superb victory in a 2116m stand at Pinjarra on Monday at his first attempt in a stand. He raced three wide before surging to the front after 450m and then setting a brisk pace and defying a mid-race challenge from Burghley Shard on his way to winning comfortably by more than two lengths.
Soho Dow Jones will again be driven by Mitch Miller, who praised the American Ideal gelding, saying: “He is a horse with a lot of ability. You can drive him any which way you like. He’s got speed and you can also drive him like a truck.
“At Pinjarra on Monday we were hoping for an easy kill, but it didn’t turn out that way. I’ll speak to Kim to see what he wants to do with him. We don’t do too much with him during the week, and the hard runs don’t affect him too much.
“This is not an easy three-year-old race by any means. There are many dangers, notably Little Darling, who is a class filly, Rock On Top and High Price.
“Two starts ago Soho Dow Jones also ran good sectionals over the long trip (2536m when he raced without cover and finished third behind Jackpot Joe and Cullen Star). Soho Dow Jones also raced in the breeze three starts ago when a fighting third behind Been Scootin.
Little Darling, prepared by Busselton trainer Barry Howlett and driven by Chris Lewis, deserves favouritism and is sure to prove very hard to beat. She has had 19 starts for five wins, six seconds and three thirds.
She is overdue for a win after her seven runs in her current campaign have resulted in five seconds, one third and one fourth placing. She will start from the No. 6 barrier. At her most recent outing Little Darling finished determinedly to be second to Been Scootin, beaten a short half-head, in the WA Country Derby at Pinjarra last Monday week. Three starts earlier she finished a half-head second to Taking The Miki in the Group 1 WA Oaks at Gloucester Park.