Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Watching Our Coin is poised to make amends for his narrow first-up defeat by outpacing his six rivals in the 2503m New Season Handicap at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The Michael Young-trained six-year-old will start from the No. 2 barrier on the front line, and Gary Hall Jnr will be keen to send the gelding straight to the front.
Watching Our Coin began from the 20m mark last Friday night when resuming after a four-month absence. Carana, the warm favourite, galloped badly at the start, and Stuart McDonald sent Cooper to the front after 200m, with Watching Our Coin settling down in eighth position.
With the pace easing in front, Hall sent Watching Our Coin forward with a three-wide burst 1450m from home. Watching Our Coin moved to the breeze at the 1200m, and he fought on grimly to finish second, a half-head behind Cooper, who covered the final 400m sections in 29sec. and 28.5sec.
Cooper started from the front mark last week, and this week Watching Our Coin will meet Cooper on 20m better terms.
No doubt, Hall will go into the race with plenty of respect for the Greg and Skye Bond-trained Raven Banner. He drove Raven Banner for the first time when the gelding took the lead 600m after the start and went on to win by a length from Carana, with a final 800m in 58.6sec., three Fridays ago.
Deni Roberts will drive Raven Banner from barrier three on the front line on Friday night and is sure to be prominent. It appears that the race will not be just a battle between Watching Our Coin and Raven Banner, with Cooper, Withoutthetuh, Ardens Horizon and Fleur Du Marquis all racing in good form.
Withoutthetuh, the sole backmarker off 10m, has won at two of his past three starts, leading and beating Sovrana over 1177m at Pinjarra and setting the pace and winning from American Arma and Stormskyes over 1730m at Gloucester Park before finishing a well-beaten fourth behind Minstrel in a field of five last Friday week.
Ardens Horizon has been placed at three of his past four starts at Gloucester Park, while trainer Bianca Ashcroft’s six-year-old mare Fleur Du Marquis gave a wonderful performance to finish third behind Sovrana and Mighthavtime last Friday night after having a tough run in the breeze.
The opening event, the $23,000 Catalano Pace over 2130m, promises to be a keenly-contested affair, with the polemarker Rumour Has It (Chris Lewis) expected to lead and to be challenged strongly by Beyond The Sea, Three Rumours and Nullarbor Navajo.