Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Veteran pacer Cordero made the most of a significant drop-in class when he proved too good for his eight rivals in the $31,000 Go One Better With Westral Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The nine-year-old, owned and trained by Trevor Wright, was the $2.70 favourite from barrier seven, with Kyle Harper content to race him in sixth position, one-out and two-back, before he sprinted home strongly to take the lead 115m from the post and stroll to a 5m win over the $3.60 second fancy High Price, who had got to the front 270m from home after racing outside the pacemaker Major Overs for much of the way.
Cordero, who is by American sire Western Terror, has inherited much of his ability from his dam, the former star pacing mare Innocent Eyes, who amassed $421,875 in prizemoney from 18 wins and 17 placings from 62 starts, with the highlight of her career being her win in the $200,000 Chariots Of Fire at Harold Park in January 2006.
Cordero thrives on racing, and he now has a record of 162 starts for 16 wins, 39 placings and $282,317.
“We lobbed in the right position but the slow opening sections of 31.8sec. and 29.6sec. were not in our favour,” said Harper. “But his class prevailed, and obviously he handled them pretty comfortably.”