Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Ryan Bell is a cheerful character and a highly professional trainer whose cheeky nature has led to five-year-old mare Delightfull most unexpectedly entering his Baskerville stables.
A flippant act by the 35-year-old Bell just over three weeks ago had an enjoyable sequel when Delightfull caused a major upset when she was the rank outsider at $79.40 and stormed home to record an effortless victory in the Choices Flooring Pace for mares at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Not only was it a pleasurable result for Bell, but it was the culmination of a brilliant week for Aiden de Campo — with the five-year-old Delightfull completing a winning treble for the dashing 29-year-old reinsman, who had won earlier in the night with Mandy Joan ($12.80) and Bettor Copagoodone ($3.90).
Those three winners gave de Campo a marvellous result of seven Gloucester Park winners in the space of four days, following victories on Tuesday with Dominus Factum ($1.50), Newsy ($13), Phar From Kalahari ($3.60) and Areu Talkin ($4.60).
The Delightfull story began just less than a month ago when Bell drove to the Hopeland stables of Kevin Charles to pick up Iona Diamond, a five-year-old mare owned by Charles’s son Kody.
Kevin and Kody Charles were busy with the breeding season and Kody was happy to give his mare a change of environment.
Bell had loaded Iona Diamond on to his float when, as a bit of a joke, he attempted to get promising gelding Whos The Dad to join the mare. With his silver moustache twitching, Kevin Charles informed Bell that Whos The Dad, a winner of two-year-old events at Pinjarra and Gloucester Park earlier in the year, was not going anywhere.
“Then, in the spur of the moment Kevin said ‘Oh well, you can take Delightfull instead,’” said Bell. “I was just being a smartie, but I was quite happy to take Delightfull to train for Kevin.”
Bell was not particularly optimistic when he took Delightfull and Iona Diamond to Gloucester Park on Friday night to race against each other in the ninth event on the card. They had been working well and he was sure that they would be prominent, without being strong winning chances.
Iona Diamond was a $14 chance from barrier two, while punters completely overlooked Delightfull from the No. 6 barrier. Bettor Pack It ($3.40) set the pace, with the $1.45 favourite Miss Mucho in the breeze and Iona Diamond enjoying the sit behind the leader, and Delightfull following Iona Diamond.
De Campo eased Delightfull the pegs with 600m to travel before switching her three wide at the 300m. She burst to the front 100m later and careered away from the opposition to win by five lengths from Bettor Pack It, rating 1.56.5 after final quarters of 28.7sec. and 29sec. Iona Diamond finished third.
Delightfull ended a losing sequence of twelve and improved her record to 73 starts for seven wins, 18 placings and stakes of $74,133. Interestingly, Bell had driven Delightfull twice, as a two-year-old when she won as a $34 outsider at Bunbury in April 2019 and then when she was unplaced behind Mandy Joan in a heat of the Diamond Classic at Gloucester Park a month later.
Delightfull is a half-sister to Lady Luca, whose nine wins included the group 1 Diamond Classic in June 2016.