Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Ravenswood trainer-driver Jocelyn Young has enjoyed outstanding successes with pacing mares in the past couple of seasons, and she is looking forward confidently to further wins with comeback mare Freyja, who has bright prospects in the $30,000 Perth Now Fillies and Mares Restricted Summer Feature at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Freyja is giving every indication that she will follow in the winning footsteps of Young-trained mares Steno, The Amber Hare, Castella Dellacqua and Peaceful.
Between those four mares they have won 27 races for Young in the past three years, after Young had prepared star mare Has No Fear for five wins between 2020 and 2022.
The Victorian-bred Freyja is on the comeback trail after being out of action for three years and four months following a tendon injury sustained after she had scored an all-the-way Pinjarra win in early August 2021, with her first four starts in her current campaign producing two wins and two second placings.
“Freyja is on the way up after a long break,” said Young. “She has drawn barrier three on Friday night and she has reasonable natural gate speed. It’s an even bunch, and she is racing well enough (to win).”
Freyja was most impressive at her latest appearance, when she was restrained from barrier six and was last in the field of nine at the bell before sustaining a powerful three-wide burst to finish second to Petes Honour over 2100m when she sprinted over the final 400m sections in 28.32sec. and 27.71sec.
Freyja is a seven-year-old by Betterthancheddar and has had only 18 starts for six wins and four placings. Among her toughest rivals are Our Lady Jen, Hunt The Magic, Unlucky, Blaze Coops and Jackie Daniels.
Our Lady Jen, trained and driven by Dylan Egerton-Green, was a dashing winner at a 1.56.1 rate over 1730m last Friday night, and she will start from the inside of the back line in Friday night’s 2130m event.
Our Lady Jen was badly hampered for room in the back straight in last Friday night’s race before she got into the clear 250m from home and finished strongly to win by two lengths from Jackie Daniels, who impressed in running home from last at the bell.
Veteran trainer Ian Gossage will be giving five-year-old Hunt the Magic her first run for eight months, and she will be tested after starting from the outside barrier (No. 9).
Outstanding young reinsman Kyle Symington has given punters a valuable lead by choosing to drive Hunt The Magic ahead of the Ryan Bell-trained Bella Ragazza, a mare he has driven at 17 of her past 23 starts, including a win at Narrogin three starts ago.
Symington handled Hunt The Magic, a winner at seven of her 37 starts, in two recent Byford trials for a nose second to Cooper and a third to Captains Beachbabe.
Lindsay Harper trains and drives Unlucky, who has drawn the coveted No. 1 barrier. Unlucky impressed two starts ago when she began from the outside of the back line and was tenth at the bell before charging home out four wide to finish a one-length second to Secret Reaction in the $30,000 Coulson Pace.
“Unlucky has reasonably good gate speed; she is going good and is an each-way chance,” said Harper.
Blaze Coops, a veteran of 84 starts, bounced back to form for trainer Shane Tognolini with an all-the-way win over 2185m at Pinjarra on Monday, rating 1.55.7 at her first appearance for almost two months.
She will be driven by Kyle Harper from out wide at barrier seven, and there is every possibility she will burst straight to the front.
Gary Hall Jnr will drive Princess Katie from the No. 8 barrier, and the four-year-old looks tested despite her excellent form in four starts in Albany when she won twice and finished second twice.