Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Brilliant filly Water Lou’s trainer Mike Reed has been in New Zealand during the week, but the word from his Henley Brook stable is that the three-year-old is “working the track down” and should continue on her winning ways when she contests the HTA Taking You To New Heights Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Water Lou is awkwardly drawn out wide at barrier seven, with star reinsman Shannon Suvaljko saying: “We will go forward and will be hard to beat. Xceptional Arma, In A Wink and Lenora Jane are good fillies who are in form.”
Water Lou has had 12 starts for nine wins and one second placing, while the Colin Brown-trained Xceptional Arma, to be driven by Maddison Brown, has been most impressive, with her 17 starts producing ten wins and four seconds. She resumed after a spell last Friday week when she was not suited in the breeze in a slowly-run 2130m event and finished second to In A Wink, who finished strongly after enjoying a perfect trail in the one-out, one-back position.
In A Wink, to be driven by Deni Roberts for trainers Greg and Skye Bond, will start from out wide at barrier No. 8. She is a smart sit-sprinter who should be finishing strongly.
The Kim Prentice-trained Lenora Jane gave an eye-catching performance on Tuesday of last week when she began from the outside barrier in the field of nine and was last at the bell — and last on the home turn — before flying home to snatch a thrilling last-stride half-head victory over the pacemaker Luci Kane.
Lenora Jane will start from barrier six on Friday night, with reinsman Mitch Miller suggesting that he was likely to drive the filly in similar fashion on Friday night.
“She was first-up last start and a little bit underdone,” said Miller. “We wouldn’t have been upset if she hadn’t won. We knew that we had to drive her that way.”
The least experienced filly in Friday night’s race is the Ryan Bell-trained Atlantic Gem, the solitary runner on the back line who has raced twice, for a debut second to San Remo Beach at Gloucester Park last July and an all-the-way win by a half-head over More Sass at Bunbury last Saturday.
“I wouldn’t read too much into her win by only a very short margin,” said Bell. “She does only what she needs to do.”