Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Hardy mare Vivere Damore, a veteran of 113 starts, has set the pace and won at her two most recent outings from the prized No. 1 barrier, and she gets an ideal opportunity to notch her 15TH victory when she begins from the inside barrier in the $23,750 SEFS The Asset Finance Specialists Pace over 1730m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Vivere Damore began from barrier one six starts ago, on October 7, when she set the pace and won from Platinum Sparkle and Bettor Get It On, rating 1.57.4 over 2130m.
Her previous appearance from the No. 1 barrier was four starts before that when she led and beat Angel In White, Born To Boogie and Savvy Bromac over 2130m on May 20 this year. Vivere Damore also started from barrier one when she set the pace and won over 2130m on December 31, 2019.
She raced three back on the pegs and battled on gamely when a close-up fifth behind Bettor Get It On as an $81 outsider last Friday night.
Vivere Damore is trained by Peter Tilbrook and will be driven by Mitch Miiller. She has been a wonderful performer, earning $235,21 from 14 wins and 31 placings.
“Last week me and Tilly (trainer Peter Tilbrook) were a bit disappointed,” said Miller. “At her previous couple of starts she had been pulling pretty hard. But last week she was really relaxed and didn’t finish off as good as we would have liked.
“This week the plan will be to lead. She runs her best races when she can lead. It’s a small field but it is full of quality.”
Miller is also hoping for a strong performance from the Dan Costello-trained The Kraken, a noted frontrunner who will start from barrier No.1 in the 2536m Catalano Truck And Equipment Sales Pace.
But Miller has some reservations about The Kraken’s ability to lead on Friday night, saying: “For some reason The Kraken doesn’t get off the gate very good from that release point (2536m start). If it was a 2130m race I would say he would be hard to beat.
“I’m not worried about the distance. It’s just because he has problems with the 2536m release point. At his past two runs from this starting point, he galloped out in a 1730m event, and in the other one, over 2536m, he just flopped out. They release the field straight into the corner and The Kraken doesn’t seem to muster through like he does at the 2130m start. I will have to try to time things a bit better from the 2536m release point.”
Miller is sure to be popular with punters when he drives Alcopony for Henley Brook trainer Kevin Keys in the opening event, the 2130m Catalanotrucks.com.au Pace for three-year-olds. Alcopony, an all-the-way winner over 2185m at Pinjarra four starts ago, will start from the No. 4 barrier.