Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Contesting Bunbury feature events are the plans for brilliant three-year-old Tricky Miki leading into the $200,000 WA Derby on November 4.
“He’s got quite a few races leading into the Derby — the Battle Of Bunbury (September 21) and the South-West Derby (October 7),” said Boyanup trainer Justin Prentice after Gary Hall Jnr had produced yet another magical performance to land Tricky Miki, the $7.70 third favourite, a superb winner of the Group 1 $100,000 TABtouch Westbred Classic for colts and geldings at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“We thought that Tricky Miki’s final 200 metres are his best, and he would have the best opportunity if he was close enough. And Junior drove a ripper race, slotting in. I never thought that he would be one-one after starting from barrier seven.”
Tricky Miki settled down in ninth position before Hall sent him forward with a three-wide burst after 400m to quickly move to the breeze, with the polemarker and $2.25 favourite Goodfellaz setting the pace.
The Miki Taker ($11) also surged forward for Aiden De Campo and when he got to the breeze 550m after the start, Tricky Miki was in a perfect position, one-out and one-back. Hall bided his time before he switched Tricky Miki three wide with about 250m to travel and the gelding sprinted strongly to take the lead 70m from the post before winning by just under a length from $8.50 chance Loucid Dreams, with $81 outsider Whos The Dad running on from three back on the pegs to be third, ahead of a wilting Goodfellaz.
The final 400m sections were covered in 27.8sec. and 28.8sec. and Tricky Miki rated 1.56.2 and took his record to five wins and five placings from eleven starts for earnings of $173,246. He won the Group 1 Golden Slipper in July last year and is certainly proving a good buy for Prentice and a syndicate of owners, headed by Glen Mortimer.
Prentice paid $57,500 for Tricky Miki at the 2020 APG Perth yearling sale, and Mortimer declared: “There is nobody as good as Justin in selecting a horse at the sales, and he is a great trainer.”
Tricky Miki, bred by Steve Johnson, is by American sire Always B Miki, and is out of Harriet Elisabeth, who had 36 starts for 11 wins, nine placings and stakes of $114,348. Harriet Elisabeth finished second to Im Bella Jay in the Westbred Classic for three-year-old fillies in July 2014.
“Tricky Miki is a nice horse who doesn’t get the credit he deserves,” said Hall.
Swingband, the $4.20 second fancy on Friday night after winning at 11 of his 18 starts, finished last. He settled down in sixth place in the one-wide line, but his chances were ruined when he stood on and displaced his near fore shoe about 550m after the start, causing him to break into a gallop and drop back to last.