Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Michael Young, the State’s leading trainer this season, left Gloucester Park on Friday night with a perfect record, three starters for three victories.
He completed the treble with $18 chance Acushla Machree, who surprised him by winning the Go To Allwood Stud Pace over 2130m after the mare had overraced in the breeze and faded to finish last the previous Friday night.
Acushla Machree’s win came after Young had been successful earlier in the program with Penny Black and Montana D J, with the three winners being driven by Emily Suvaljko.
The treble left Young as the leader on the WA trainers’ premiership table with 47 winners this season, nine ahead of Aiden De Campo.
Acushla Machree began swiftly from barrier six and led by a half-length early but was unable to cross to the front, with $91 outsider Cry Havoc holding the lead after starting from the No. 1 barrier. Eventually Acushla Machree got to the front after 550m and she set the pace and went on to win by a half-length from the $1.32 favourite Scooter B, who began from the outside barrier in the field of nine and raced without cover for most of the 2130m trip.
When Acushla Machree got to the breeze she started hitting the wheels of her sulky and racing keenly.
“Mitchell (Miller) saw her hitting the wheels and he decided to hand up with Cry Havoc,” said Suvaljko. “My plan was to get to the front and then hand up to Scooter B. But Acushla Machree took off in front, and after the fast lead time of 35.9sec. I can’t believe that she was able to go on and win. She had worked with Penny Black during the week and this certainly helped.”
Acushla Machree, a big, sturdy mare by Vincent, is owned by Hayden King, and now has raced 43 times for nine wins, eleven placings and stakes of $98,040. She won at five of her 32 New Zealand starts, and her WA record now stands at eleven starts for four wins and three placings.
She is the third foal out of Annie Morva, a successful race mare who was retired with earnings of $146,823 from eleven wins and 27 placings from 75 starts.