Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
One hundred and ninety-eight years ago Captain James Stirling was in command of the British sailing ship Success which travelled up the Swan River before landing on the Perth foreshore.
And at Gloucester Park on Friday night Serpentine trainer-reinsman Dylan Egerton-Green will be in command of promising colt Captain Stirling, who has bright prospects of sailing home and winning the $100,000 APG Sales Classic for three-year-old colts and geldings.
Captain Stirling will begin from the prized No. 1 barrier and Egerton-Green will be looking to set the pace and then hold his eleven rivals at bay.
Captain Stirling had no luck when he finished third behind Soho Shakedown and Belly Up in an event for three-year-olds last Friday night when he raced three back on the pegs and was in a tight pocket in sixth position in the back straight in the final lap before getting clear with 300m to travel, going four wide on the home turn and unleashing a powerful late burst.
This was an excellent performance by Captain Stirling at his first appearance after an absence of 25 weeks. Captain Stirling was purchased for $32,000 at the 2023 APG Perth yearling sale and is raced by Rob Tomlinson’s Oz-West Pacing, Damien Keating and Peter Morris, who have two other runners in Friday night’s race, Lazarus Star and Captain Paprika.
Lazarus Star, to be driven by Trent Wheeler from barrier two on the back line, followed four placings from four starts in his current campaign before leading and winning over 2190m at Northam last Saturday week.
Captain Paprika will be driven by Maddison Brown and faces a stern test from out wide at barrier eight. Captain Paprika, a winner at Pinjarra as a two-year-old last March, will be having his first start for almost seven months.
Baskerville trainer Ryan Bell holds a strong hand with four runners, Wicked Hustler (barrier two), American Major (three), Charivari (six) and Control The Room (inside of the back line).
Kyle Symington, the Bell stable’s No. 1 driver, has given punters a good lead by choosing to handle Charivari, who disappointed at his first outing for two months when he began speedily from barrier six but was unable to cross to the front before he finally got to the lead after 1180m and then wilted to finish eighth behind Jaxs Ideal last Friday week.
That followed his brilliant performance when he set the pace and broke the track record at Narrogin when winning a 1823m event by more than eight lengths on December 17.
Wicked Hustler, to be driven by Trent Wheeler, has yet to win and has managed three placings from nine starts. American Major (Chris Lewis) is resuming after a ten-week absence. He showed promise when he raced wide early before leading and winning over 2130m at Gloucester Park two starts ago, on December 7.
Control The Room (Gary Hall Jnr) is ideally drawn on the inside of the back line and is capable of fighting out the finish. He finished solidly from seventh at the bell to be fourth behind Jaxs Ideal last Friday week when having his first start for five months. His only win from nine starts was when he set the pace and beat Como El Viento over 1609m at Bunbury last July.