Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
When several trotters were charging forward approaching the home turn in the $50,000 Trotsynd Trotters Cup at Gloucester Park on Friday night owner-trainer Barry Howlett was worried that his star five-year-old Our Maestoso was going to be swamped by the threatening, advancing army.
But champion reinsman Chris Lewis was not at all despairing, revealing that Our Maestoso, the $2.10 favourite, was cruising as he dashed away in the home straight to score an easy one-length victory over the $5.50 second fancy Evas Image.
“Chris didn’t pull the plugs,” said Howlett. “He said that Our Maestoso was travelling easily in the straight and had the opposition well and truly covered.
“Our Maestoso had to do a bit of work and I was concerned when the challengers were looming.”
Our Maestoso began from the 10m line and settled down in seventh position, with the $9.50 chance Elegant Peak setting the pace. Lewis sent the New Zealand-bred gelding forward with a three-wide burst two laps from home before moving to the breeze at the 1250m.
Our Maestoso got to the front with 350m to travel, and he rated 2.2.1 over the 2503m to improve his record to 14 starts for twelve wins, one third and one sixth placing for stakes of $98,790. The victory gave Howlett his second success in the Trotters Cup, following the success of Sunnys Little Whiz in 2016.
Sunnys Little Whiz raced 29 times for Howlett in WA for 16 wins and ten placings before being retired to the breeding barn.
For Lewis, this was his third Trotters Cup victory, coming after the wins of Earl Of Charity in 2015 and Mr Sundon in 2020.
Howlett said he was considering sending Our Maestoso to race in the Eastern States. “Trotters face very hard tasks when they get on tight marks here in WA,” he said. “There are occasional mobile events for trotters here, but I’ll probably have to consider sending him east because it is no good starting him off ridiculous marks.”
The Michael Young-trained Evas Image put up an excellent performance to finish second. Gary Hall Jnr sent her forward in the first lap in a bid to get to the front, but Elegant Peak resisted the challenge, and Hall then cleverly angled Evas Image across to take the trail behind the pacemaker.
However, Evas Image was badly hampered for room approaching the home turn. She finally got into the clear 120m from the post and finished with a spirited burst.
Patched, last year’s Trotters Cup winner and co-backmarker off 40 metres, was tenth in the middle stages before sustaining a strong three-wide burst approaching the bell to finish a gallant third.