Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Smart four-year-old Maximum Rock has resumed after a spell in splendid form, and trainer-reinsman Chris Voak is confident the gelding will prove hard to beat in the $35,000 Garrard’s BOTRA Cup over 2503m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Maximum Rock is the only runner in the field of eight who has not contested a standing-start event. He will begin from barrier two on the front line, and looms as the chief rival to the favourite Dawson, who will begin from the 20m mark and will be seeking to extend his winning sequence to five.
Maximum Rock qualified to contest standing-start events when he began smoothly in a trial behind the strands at Pinjarra five Wednesdays ago.
After a first-up third behind Castella Dellacqua at Pinjarra on June 30 Maximum Rock ran home powerfully from eighth at the bell to win from Pushbutton Rock over 2242m at Narrogin the following week.
“He has a really good winning chance on Friday night,” Voak said. “I would like to lead, and if he does it will take a good horse to beat him. His stablemate My Silver Spoon beat Dawson in a stand at Gloucester at the end of May, and Maximum Rock is going better than My Silver Spoon was going.”
Trainer-reinsman Gary Hall Jnr believes that Dawson can overcome the 20m handicap and emerge triumphant. “We saw last week that he doesn’t have to lead to win,” he said. “He is in the zone and will prove hard to beat.”
Dawson’s past three wins have been in stands, and the Sweet Lou four-year-old has bright prospects of winning and giving Hall his sixth victory in the 45-year history on the BOTRA Cup, one of the few remaining standing-start feature events on the WA pacing calendar.
Hall has won the Cup five times, scoring with Strike A Blow (2002), Spirit Of Shard (2008), Classic American (2015), Naughty Maravu (2016) and The Bucket List (2018).
His second-string runner Bluto will start from 30m with Maddison Brown in the sulky. Bluto started from 30m and dashed forward from the rear approaching the bell to get on terms with Dawson 220m from home before fighting on to finish a close third. Dawson had taken the lead with 450m to travel after racing one-out and two-back and then in the breeze.
Stuart McDonald, who drove the Bond-trained Carana to win the 2024 BOTRA Cup, will handle the 60m backmarker Im The Black Flash for trainer Gary Hall Snr in Friday night’s Cup.
Im The Black Flash has a great record in his six appearances in standing-start events, winning four times and finishing second twice. He began from 50m when he won a 2503m stand at Gloucester Park in May this year, beating Chilli Punter and Skylou.
Chilli Punter will have many admirers on Friday night when she will start from 10m, with Kyle Symington in the sulky for trainer Jemma Hayman.