Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Talented and lightly raced five-year-old Sweet Pins showed that he should be a leading contender in the upcoming Group 3 features, the Winter Cup and August Cup, when he crushed his rivals with a sparkling frontrunning exhibition to win the $31,000 $9 Swan Draught Pints Free-For-All over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Sweet Pins, the $3 second fancy from the No. 4 barrier, is trained by Gary Hall Snr and driven by Gary Hall Jnr, who went into the race uncertain of how the New Zealand-bred pacer would perform behind the mobile barrier.
Hall had restrained Sweet Pins at the start at his two previous appearances, and he said after Friday night’s win that the previous time he had attempted to win the start with Sweet Pins was when he began from barrier six in a race at Gloucester Park on April 24.
“I went to come out on him, and he nearly did a triple somersault on me,” he said. “So, tonight I was pretty happy after he jumped in front and was able to get away with an easy opening quarter of 31.6sec.”
Sweet Pins then ran the next three 400m sections in 28.9sec., 28.3sec. and 28.2sec. and won by three lengths from $51 chance and last-start winner Cams Boulder, who enjoyed a perfect passage behind the pacemaker. He rated 1.56.3 and improved his record to 23 starts for nine wins, five placings and $125,306 in prizemoney.
Munroes Mate, the $2.75 favourite from the No. 1 barrier, was beaten for early pace and raced in fifth position, three back on the pegs, before finishing sixth.
Cee Dee Three, trained by Shane Tognolini and driven by Kyle Harper, was a $55.60 outsider when he gave an outstanding performance to charge home from 12TH and last at the bell to score a brilliant victory in the 2130m Bridge Bar Pace.
His win made amends for his seventh behind Cams Boulder the previous Friday night when he bungled the start as a fancied $7.50 chance.
Cee Dee Three began from the outside barrier (No. 9) and Harper was content to give the horse an easy time at the rear before he unleashed his sparkling finishing burst which carried him to a one-length victory over Soho The Real Deal, with the $1.38 favourite Spitfire a half-head away in third place after working in the breeze as $7 chance Arista set the pace.
Cee Dee Three, a seven-year-old by Auckland Reactor, has raced only 31 times for six wins, eleven placings and $74,581.