Cortopassi celebrates in style
Star reinsman Aldo Cortopassi turned 46 on Thursday and he celebrated the occasion in fine style by notching his seventh group 1 victory when he produced a wonderfully aggressive drive to guide up-and-coming superstar Magnificent Storm to a glorious victory in the $100,000 Barbagallo James Brennan Memorial at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Adding to the joyous, uninhibited festivities of the band of owners was the happy occasion of the birthday of Dot Williams, wife of astute trainer Ray Williams, who produced Magnificent Storm in superb condition just a week after the five-year-old’s shock defeat when a fading fourth behind Patronus Star after overracing in a Free-For-All.
Magnificent Storm was the $1.80 favourite from barrier five in Friday night’s 2536m feature event in which To Fast To Serious ($7.50) and Hampton Banner ($9.50) were set on fire to the inside of Magnificent Storm as they battled for the early lead.
To Fast To Serious held out Hampton Banner, and Magnificent Storm was trapped out three wide in third place for most of the first lap before Cortopassi sent the gelding to the front after 700m and then was able to gain a much-needed breather with a sedate opening quarter of the final mile of 31.9sec.
Magnificent Storm was joined in the breeze in the middle stages by $12 chance Gambit, and after a second 400m section of 30.1sec. the favourite increased the tempo as he sped over the final 400m sections in 27.7sec. and 28sec. He won, racing away, by almost five lengths from $34 chance Wildwest, who ran home solidly from seventh (on the pegs) at the bell. Gambit held on to finish third, ahead of Patronus Star ($5) and $18 chance Diego, who surged home, out five wide, from last at the bell.
“It was the plan to come out hard and have a look (for the front),” said Cortopassi. “I expected that To Fast To Serious and Hampton Banner would have a little bit of a war, but I didn’t think that Magnificent Storm would be left out there (three wide) for so long.
“I contemplated restraining Magnificent Storm back to the rear but when I had a look to see how far away the back horses were, I decided against dragging back. I thought ‘no’ and it was time to put the accelerator down. We had committed ourselves this far, so we might as well go on with it.
“Magnificent Storm is a funny horse. When he’s on, he is really on. Last week, I don’t think he was a hundred per cent switched on in himself. He wanted to spin around (in the preliminary) and do a few things he doesn’t normally do.
“But tonight, as soon as we got on the track it was game on; he was switched on. When we went down the back in the last lap in 27.7sec. he was doing it on his own. I wasn’t asking for it; he was doing that on his own.
“Around the corner I saw Stewie’s horse (Gambit) dropping off, and I looked to my inside and saw Dylan (To Fast To Serious) was also dropping off. So, I lifted the reins, and he ran through the line strongly. He was the real horse tonight.
“When he can be that freewheeling type of horse, he is very good. This performance strengthened his claims in the in the big Cups (Fremantle Cup and WA Pacing Cup in January). He is one of the major players. But everything has to go right on the night.”
Magnificent Storm became only the third multiple winner in the 56-year history of the Brennan Memorial, following Village Kid and Shattering Class. For Cortopassi it was his third success in the event, following his win with Just Jasper in 2008 and Magnificent Storm in 2021.
Magnificent Storm, a New Zealand-bred gelding by American Ideal, now has had 36 starts for 26 wins, five placings and $560,067.
Eighteen Carat does it tough
New Zealand-bred five-year-old Eighteen Carat revealed tremendous fighting qualities when she raced wide early and then in the breeze before getting up to snatch a last-stride victory in the $100,000 Barbagallo Norms Daughter Classic at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Eighteen Carat, driven by Gary Hall jnr, was the $2.70 favourite from her wide draw at barrier No. 7, and she fought on with grim determination to beat the $6.50 third fancy Fifty Five Reborn by a head, rating 1.57.1, to give 33-year-old trainer Michael Young his first group 1 success. The Amber Hare ($3.20) sustained a strong run from eighth in the middle stages to finish third.
All her nine starts in Western Australia for seven wins, one third and one fourth for earnings of $168,173 have been over 2130m --- and on the surface it could be suggested that she could be tested over the 2536m journey when she has her next start, in the $150,000 group 1 Mares Classic next Friday week.
However, Young is far from concerned at Eighteen Carat racing over 2536m, saying: “That distance will suit her. She is an all-round horse who is tough and is like an old gelding.
“She did what we thought what we thought she could do. She was the best mare in the race. A good barrier would have made her a certainty, and she could still win from a bad barrier.
“She will have a bit of rest and relaxation over the weekend and then will be back in work on Monday to get ready for the Mares Classic.
“Tonight, when Fifty Five Reborn got a neck ahead of Eighteen Carat at the 400m I thought she might have been in a bit of trouble. But when she levelled up with the leader, I was confident she would beat her.”
Young is enjoying an outstanding season and sits in second place behind Greg and Skye Bond on the trainers’ premiership table with 90 winners, 49 seconds and 36 thirds from 302 starters. The Bonds hold a massive lead, with their 519 runners producing 157 wins, 102 seconds and 65 third placings.
Lazy colt hits the jackpot
Jackpot Joe, a well-bred New Zealand-bred colt, has failed to live up to expectations because of his lazy nature. But he struck form with a vengeance at Gloucester Park on Friday night when he responded to the pre-race urgings of champion reinsman Chris Lewis and scored a smart victory in the $20,250 Barbagallo Ferrari Pace for three-year-olds.
“Jackpot Joe has never really learnt to try,” said Busselton trainer Barry Howlett, who races the Bettors Delight colt with his wife Lynley and their children Katy and Jimmy.
“He would come back in after racing, not even puffing. He has been working so well at home, so I told Chris (reinsman Chris Lewis) to stir him up in the preliminary and to send him out at the start.”
Lewis stirred Jackpot Joe up in the preliminary, and the $21 chance had his mind on the job when Lewis got him away smartly from the No. 6 barrier and he settled down in the favourable one-out, one-back position while Speedwagon ($6.50) was setting the pace after resisting a spirited early challenge from another $6.50 chance Soho Dow Jones, who began brilliantly from the outside barrier (No. 9) on the front line.
Eventually, Mitch Miller was able to send Soho Dow Jones to the front 400m from home. Cullen Star ($34), who had trailed Speedwagon throughout, finished strongly, but was unable to hold out Jackpot Joe, who finished determinedly to hit the front in the final couple of strides.
“He has the ability, and now, hopefully, he will go on,” said Howlett, who left on Saturday for a well-deserved 11-day holiday in Bali.
Howlett purchased Jackpot Joe at the 2020 New Zealand yearling sale in Christchurch. “He was well bred, and I liked the look of him,” said Howlett.
Jackpot Joe is a full-brother to Motu Premier, who was trained in WA by Ross Olivieri and was driven by Lewis for seven Gloucester Park wins. Motu Premier, now racing in South Australia, has had 79 starts for 20 wins, 29 placings and $424,308 in prizemoney.
McDonald seizes his chance
Stuart McDonald made the most of the opportunity to drive speedy four-year-old Finvarra in the 1730m Barbagallo Lamborghini Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night when champion reinsman Gary Hall jnr opted to drive the Michael Young-trained The Mustang.
Finvarra was second favourite at $3.90 from barrier six, while The Mustang, from the outside barrier in the field of seven, was the $1.95 favourite after leading for Hall and winning at his first three starts in Western Australia on consecutive Friday nights last month.
The Mustang revealed his typical sparkling gate speed to burst straight to the front, while Finvarra settled down in last position. When the early pace was not as fast as generally expected, McDonald sent Finvarra forward with a strong three-wide burst 300m after the start to move into the breeze.
Finvarra took a narrow lead 225m from home and he held on grimly and gained the verdict in a thrilling four-way photo finish, beating the fast-finishing $81 outsider Gotta Go Gabbana by a half-head, with a $5 chance Miracle Moose running home powerfully, out five wide, to be a head away in third place. The Mustang was another head farther back in fourth spot.
“Finvarra pulled a bit hard, but still won,” said trainer Gary Hall snr. “Stewie took off early because he didn’t want the favourite to get away with murder in front.”
Finvarra will now be set for the feature events, the $50,000 Four-Year-Old Championship next Friday night, followed by the $125,000 Four-Year-Old Classic and the $200,000 Golden Nugget.
The son of American Ideal has earned $189,648 from 11 wins and eight placings from 20 starts.
Tenzing Bromac gets the job done
Promising New Zealand-bred gelding Tensing Bromac enhanced his prospects of qualifying for a start in the upcoming rich feature events for four-year-olds when Ryan Warwick opted out of contesting a fierce early speed battle in the 2130m Barbagallo Watch Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Warwick got Tenzing Bromac, the $1.90 favourite, away swiftly from the outside barrier in the field of seven but quickly restrained him back to last before he brought him home with a well-timed burst to hit the front in the final few strides to beat his four-year-old stablemate and $2.45 second fancy Himself.
He dashed over the final 400m in 28.7sec. and rated a smart 1.55.9 over the 2130m trip which saw a hectic early speed battle between Himself and $14 chance Withoutthetuh resulting in a fast lead time of 35.3sec.
Withoutthetuh prevailed, but overrraced and made life tough for Himself in the breeze. Himself eventually got to the front 550m from home, and was gallant in defeat, going down by a neck to Tenzing Bromac, who completed a double for Warwick and trainers Greg and Skye Bond, who had succeeded with Ideal Agent earlier in the program.
Tenzing Bromac, a winner on debut at Addington in March of last year before finishing fifth at his next appearance, then travelled to Western Australia where his twelve starts for the Bond stable have delivered ten wins and two seconds.
Brown makes the right choice
Talented driver Maddison Brown disregarded instructions from trainer Michael Young when she kept Firerockfireroll back at the tail of the field in the Barbagallo Art Handicap, a 2503m standing-start event at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“Youngy told me to drive him the same as last week (when Firerockfireroll raced at the rear before finishing with a late burst to finish seventh behind Robbie Rocket), but be a bit more positive,” Brown explained.
Firerockfireroll, a $8.90 chance off the 10m mark, was tenth in the field of eleven at the bell when Corey Peterson sent The Stars Above forward, with a three-wide burst, which was followed by $5.50 chance Robbie Rocket, while Brown bided her time at the rear.
Firerockfireroll was last at the 650m before Brown sent him forward. He went five wide on the home turn and was fifth at the 100m before finishing strongly and getting up to win by almost a half-length from Robbie Rocket, who had taken a narrow lead in the final stages.
“I didn’t want to go when Corey went three wide approaching the bell,” said Brown. “I didn’t think it was the right time to go three wide, while I was thinking that Youngy would be cursing me. I decided to stay in, and it paid off.”
Deeorse ($31) set a solid pace, while the $1.55 favourite Aussie Scooter was working in the breeze after moving off the pegs 750m after the start. Aussie Scooter was hampered by a flat off side sulky tyre which was deflated with 1600m to travel, and he did a fine job in finishing fifth.
The Victorian-bred Firerockfireroll has won twice in stands from his first six starts in WA, and Young is planning to nominate the Courage Under Fire five-year-old for further starts in stands.
Manning and Maddison a winning combination
West Australian-bred five-year-old Manning ended an eleven-month drought when he broke through for an overdue win in the 1730m Barbagallo In Osborne Park Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
He has been quite frustrating for driver Maddison Brown with his lackadaisical attitude. But Brown has certainly formed a splendid association with the Sportswriter gelding, having been in the sulky for all of his most recent ten wins in a lucrative career of 14 wins and 11 placings from 56 starts for earnings of $208,213 which has provided plenty of excitement for members of the Trotsynd No. 16 syndicate.
Bred by Steve Johnson, Manning has proved quite a bargain, having been purchased for $19,000 at the 2019 APG Perth yearling sale.
Manning, the $2.80 favourite from barrier two, raced in the breeze outside the $4.60 third fancy Cheer The Major before taking a narrow lead 550m from home, but appearing to be struggling to maintain his advantage over Cheer The Major. Finally, he gathered momentum and dashed away from his rivals to win easily by two lengths from Cheer The Major.
“Down the back straight in the final lap I gave Manning his head a bit in a bid to get to the front,” said Brown. “But he didn’t want to go. He decided he would do his usual and stop travelling down the back. I started yelling at him and he found another gear. He has been like that lately, not doing a hundred per cent down the back, and then going again up the straight.”
Blitzembye warms up in style
Smart New Zealand-bred gelding Blitzembye warmed up for the $50,000 Four-Year-Old Championship next Friday night in encouraging fashion with an easy victory in the Barbagallo Leaders In Motoring Excellence Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
His victory over Mirragon and Master Publisher at a 1.57.2 rate over the 2130m trip was some compensation for his owners Jim and Wilma Giumelli, whose brilliant stablemate Ragazzo Mach, a winner of ten races, was scratched form a later event on Friday night and will not be able to contest next Friday night’s feature event.
Blitzembye and Ragazzo Mach are trained by Mike Reed, who said that all was well with Ragazzo Mach and that he would be as “good as gold” for his main mission, the $200,000 Gold Nugget on December 16 and for the $125,000 Four-Year-Old Classic a fortnight earlier.
The RWWA stewards revealed that they had given permission for Reed to scratch Ragazzo Mach for precautionary reasons after a stable employee had informed Reed that he may have inadvertently erred in giving Ragazzo Mach a feed intended for another horse in the same stable block which contained medication.
“Blitzembye’s two previous runs had been good,” said Reed. The Bettors Delight gelding had started off the 20m mark and had finished powerfully from tenth at the bell to be an eye-catching third behind Robbie Rocket the previous Friday night.
He started from the inside of the back line in Friday night’s event and was excellent value at $5. He trailed the pacemaker and $1.85 favourite Mirragon until Shannon Suvaljko eased him off the pegs about 460m from home. Blitzembye went three wide on the home turn and finished strongly to win by 5m.
Blitzembye, a winner at two of his eight New Zealand starts, now has raced 29 times for 12 wins, six placings and stakes of $105,379.
Warwick sees Ideal Agent as a Cups hope
Star reinsman Ryan Warwick was fulsome in his praise of Ideal Agent and predicted the New Zealand-bred five-year-old would be a worthy candidate for the $300,000 Fremantle Cup and the $450,000 WA Pacing Cup in January after he had driven him to a narrow victory in the 2536m Barbagallo Land Rover Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“I think he’s a Cups horse, though I would rather not see him in high-class fields like he was in the breeze in tonight’s race,” said Warwick.
“There seems to be no tempo in the class of races he has been contesting. He is only a little stallion who can sit and sprint. But we just don’t get to see it, the way the pattern of racing has been in recent starts. Regarding the Cups, we will find out where he sits, and take it from there.”
Ideal Agent, who revealed his staying ability when he began from 20m and won the 2902m Easter Cup last April, has performed superbly for leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond in WA, with his 21 starts in the State producing ten wins and eight placings after racing 31 times in New Zealand for four wins, nine seconds and three thirds. He has earned $207,696 from 14 wins and 20 placings from 52 starts.
He was a $3.80 chance from barrier five on Friday night, and after racing three wide early, he moved to the breeze, with Doc Holliday ($3.20) setting the pace and the $3.50 equal favourite Fanci A Dance enjoying an ideal passage in the one-out, one-back position.
Warwick sent Ideal Agent to the front 270m from home, and he held on grimly to beat Fanci A Dance by a nose, with Beat City ($3.50) a close-up, fast-finishing third.
“I didn’t think that I would get to the breeze that easily,” said Warwick. “It looked like Fanci A Dance was happy to hand over, and we got there pretty cheaply. The lead time was quite slow, so I had to back Ideal Agent to run a mile. The two to beat (Fanci A Dance and Beat City) were one-out and one back and one out and two back, so I couldn’t go too hard.
“Ideal Agent was pretty brave up the straight. I was hoping he would beat the others; it was more trust in the last 100m than anything.”
The sky’s the limit
Contesting the $1 million Nullarbor Slot race at Gloucester Park in April is in the pipeline for the exciting injury-plagued pacer Prince Of Pleasure, whose sizzling speed and sheer brilliance enthralled harness racing fans on Friday night.
“I’m going to push him through the classes in a bid to run in the Cups in January,” said trainer Gary Hall snr after Gary Hall jnr had driven Prince Of Pleasure to a runaway victory in the 1730m Barbagallo Luxury Cars Pace.
Hall snr admitted that Prince Of Pleasure was running out of time to earn starts in the $300,000 Fremantle Cup on January 13 and the $450,000 WA Pacing Cup a fortnight later. But he said he would love the New Zealand-bred five-year-old to remain sound to emerge as a prospective runner in the Nullarbor Slot.
Prince Of Pleasure rated a smart 1.53.5 in winning on Friday night when the quarters whizzed by in 28.9sec., 29.1sec., 27.8sec. and 28.2sec.
Replying to a query about Prince Of Pleasure’s staying ability, Hall said: “He’s a good stayer and ten miles wouldn’t be a problem. He pulled out 1200m from home tonight, and you can’t do that and go on and win unless you can stay. He’s fast as well. The only shortcoming is that he has bad legs.”
Hall picked out Prince Of Pleasure after the gelding had won once from eight starts in New Zealand. “He was super when he won brilliantly at his final start in New Zealand,” said Hall.
But things haven’t been plain sailing for Hall since Prince Of Pleasure arrived in Western Australia in October 2020. The gelding has broken down three times with a bowed tendon, and on Friday night he was having only his sixth start in the State since arriving here 25 months ago. He has won in dashing style at all those six appearances.
Prince Of Pleasure was the $1.14 favourite in Friday night’s race when Hall did not bustle him out from the No. 6 barrier. He settled down in tenth position and began a sizzling three-wide burst from the 950m mark to take the lead with 400m to travel and go on to win by six lengths from Little Bit Of Fun.