Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Former star juvenile pacer The Miki Taker will resume racing after a nine-month absence when he begins from the No. 5 barrier in the Matt Young Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“On his trackwork he should be thereabouts,” said Capel trainer-reinsman Aiden De Campo. “He is not blessed with heavy gate speed, but he is versatile and has high speed.
“He is a real laid-back customer who tends to get better with racing under his belt. Obviously, he will improve on his first-up run. His work at home has been good, and hopefully we can see him back to his best in this campaign.”
Punters should take into consideration five-year-old The Miki Taker’s perfect record when racing first-up. He has raced first-up four times for four wins, on debut at Pinjarra in April 2021, at Albany in January 2022, at Bunbury in July 2022, and at Pinjarra in February 2023.
The Miki Taker last appeared when he had a tough run in the breeze and finished third behind Cheer The Major and Illawong Mustang over 2130m at Gloucester Park on May 5, 2023.
“There has been a lot of little problems with him,” said De Campo. “He didn’t come back as well as I expected last time in. He had a strained tendon before that, and since then he had a cut on a leg that became infected. So, I decided to give him a lot of time and a good break.”
Our Shelley Beach will have many admirers and should fight out the finish. The Mike Reed-trained six-year-old excels in a frontrunning role, and Shannon Suvaljko is sure to make a bold bid for the lead.
“It will be good if he can work forward and get to the lead,” said Reed. “Shannon thinks he got it wrong last week when he took the trail behind Soho Santorini (and was blocked for a clear run, finishing third behind Soho Santorini). He thinks that if he had been able to get out, he would have won.”
Reed has three runners in Friday night’s event, Our Shelley Beach, Bee Jays Boy and Flying Rumour.
Flying Rumour will be driven by Kyle Symington from out wide at barrier seven. Flying Rumour was a $61 outsider from barrier eight last Friday night when he caught the eye by dashing forward three wide soon after the start and then working in the breeze and finishing second, one length behind Soho Santorini.
Katja Warwick’s team has been flying in recent weeks, and her four-year-old All Is Well is poised to run a great race after starting from the outside barrier (No. 9) in the opening event, the 2130m Chip In Jimmy Pace.
All Is Well, to be driven by Chris Lewis, is sure to appreciate a considerable drop in class, with Lewis saying: “Nine is a bit of a leveller, sometimes but he will play a good part in this race.”
All Is Well made an unsuccessful early bid for the lead in the Nights Of Thunder last Friday night before gaining a favourable sit in the one-out, one-back position and then wilting to sixth behind Jawsoflincoln.
“That was his first go with the big kids, and I was really happy with him,” said Warwick. “It was tough going; he had to go out at the start, and then the final quarters were run in 27.7sec. and 27.6sec. He has only just turned four (and was racing against older and more experienced horses).”
Warwick has an excellent second string in this week’s race, with Travelban starting from barrier six, and with Callan Suvaljko in the sulky. Travelban impressed with his easy all-the-way win over 2190m at Northam last Saturday night.