Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Six-year-old Maungatahi appreciated a drop in class and bounced back to form with a smart win in the $21,000 North Coast Firbreglass Neerabup Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
He was the $1.50 favourite and he ended a sequence of eight unplaced efforts when his trainer Dylan Egerton-Green drove him to victory by a half-length from the $7.50 third fancy Showpony, with Ideal Tomado ($6) three lengths back in third place.
“After he was able to hold out Ideal Tomado over the first 100m he was able to pinch a good first half (62sec.), and then it was a battle of the blazes up the home straight,” said Egerton-Green, referring to the conspicuous white blazes of the winner and runner-up.
Maungatahi began from the No. 4 barrier, and with Showpony in the breeze, he dashed over the final 400m sections in 28.2sec. and 27.7sec. to win at a 1.57.5 rate and improve his record to 43 starts for ten wins, 14 placings and $104,124.
He is by American sire Betterthancheddar and is out American Ideal mare Poppy Maguire, who won twice (in New Zealand) from eight starts. This was his second metropolitan-class win.
“He will keep racing and hopefully go through the grades and earn,” said Egerton-Green. “He is honest as the day is long.”
The win completed a double for Egerton-Green, who had one starter, Follow My Stride, at the Busselton meeting on Friday night.
Follow My Stride, a seven-year-old mare with a losing sequence of 26, was a $15.90 chance who gave Sara Grout (23) her first win in the sulky when she came from last in the early stages to finish strongly to beat the $2.70 favourite Remarkable Rock in a 2400m stand.
Egerton-Green’s younger brother Logan (29) notched his first double at the Busselton meeting as a trainer when Joey Suvaljko drove Cheap Thrillz ($15.10) and Extinction ($6.70) to victory. Suvaljko then completed a treble when he won the final event with $4.10 chance The Whizzer.
Storyteller is versatile
Promising New Zealand-bred five-year-old Storyteller followed his impressive all-the-way victory the previous Friday night when he was seen in a vastly different role when he began from the outside barrier (No. 9) on the front line in the $23,000 Hoist Solutions Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
He was the $2.30 favourite, with Gary Hall Jnr content to let him drop back to settle in last position while the early pace was hectic.
The lead time was a sizzling 35.1sec. with $5 chance Mr Fantastic beginning speedily from barrier seven and challenging the polemarker Longreach Bay for the early lead.
Mr Fantastic set the pace and Infinite Sign ($12) came from the rear to move to the breeze with 1200m to travel, and soon after that Emily Suvaljko sent Lets Get Rockin ($15) forward with a three-wide burst which was followed by Hall with Storyteller.
Infinite Sign took a narrow lead at the 250m before Lets Get Rockin got to the front in the home straight. Storytelller (eighth at the bell) went four wide on the home turn and finished strongly to get up and win by a head from Lets Get Rockin, rating 1.56.3 over the 2130m journey, with final quarters of 28.8sec. and 29.6sec.
“Storyteller always felt the winner after that fast lead time,” said Hall. “And the cart up probably helped him a bit. However, he probably would have won without it. It’s good to get the win because he has been a bit of a funny horse and a hard horse to get past the post (in front) on occasions. And it’s good for him to get two wins together.”
Storyteller, trained by Gary Hall Snr, has raced only 15 times for seven wins, three placings and $66,617.