Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Stuart McDonald looks set for his most successful meeting in the sulky when five of his seven drives have excellent winning prospects at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Headlining those five runners is the brilliant Im The Black Flash, who is favourably drawn at barrier two in the $50,000 Allwood Stud Four And Five-Year-Old Championship over 2130m.
He is hoping Im The Black Flash, trained by Gary Hall Snr, will give him and Hall another win in this Group 3 feature after he won the race with Mister Smartee 12 months ago after that star pacer raced wide early from barrier six and then worked hard in the breeze before getting to the front on the home turn and beating outsider Alcopony at a 1.54 3 rate.
Im The Black Flash began from the No. 2 barrier in last year’s event when he raced in the one-out and one-back position and finished fifth for Emily Suvaljko.
The 30-year-old McDonald had the choice of driving Im The Black Flash, Alta Tribute or Skylou for the Hall stable, and he has given punters a good lead by opting to handle Im The Black Flash, a New Zealand-bred five-year-old he drove to a splendid first-up victory in a 2503m stand in which he began off the back mark of 50 metres last Friday night.
Im The Black Flash raced in eighth position before he finished powerfully from fifth at the bell with a three-wide burst which saw him get to the front with 100m to travel.
Skylou, who came from eighth at the bell to finish fourth in last year’s championship event, will begin out wide at barrier eight on Friday night, with Micheal Ferguson in the sulky. Skylou was most impressive when he came from tenth and last at the bell to finish third behind Im The Black Flash.
Alta Tribute, who has won at six of his nine starts, will start from the prized No. 1 barrier and will be driven by Emily Suvaljko. He has won at his two starts at Pinjarra last month when resuming racing after a spell. He possesses good gate speed and is expected to figure in the finish.
A quality field will contest Friday night’s race in which a victory by any of the 12 runners would not come as a surprise.
Leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond will be represented by Golden Lode and Lusaka, with the stable’s No. 1 driver Deni Roberts opting to handle Golden Lode, who will begin from an awkward barrier at No. 7, with Lusaka to be driven by Dylan Egerton-Green from the inside of the back line.
Golden Lode resumed racing after a four-month absence when he began from the outside barrier (No. 9) on the front line in a 2130m event last Friday week and impressed when he raced in last position in the field of eleven before charging home, out wide, to finish third behind Gully Gum and Major Freeway.
“Golden Lode was last and got home, out three wide for a long time,” said Roberts.
Lusaka, at his second outing after a spell, finished third behind Tiger Royal and The Miki Taker in a thrilling three-way photo finish last Friday night. He raced in sixth position in the one-wide line before starting a three-wide move with 700m to travel. He took the lead on the home turn.
“I think Lusaka needed the run last week over the long trip (2936m) before getting to the front and then getting a bit tired,” said Roberts.
The Bob Mellsop-trained Gully Gum, to be driven by Lauren Harper, cannot be left out of calculations. He began speedily from out wide at barrier seven, surged to the front after 200m and went on to win by a half-length from Major Freeway over 2130m last Friday week. He is better drawn at No. 4 this week.
McDonald has excellent winning prospects with Hall-trained runners Ambitsiya (race three), My Watchlist (race seven) and Scooter B (race eight).
Ambitsiya has won at five of her nine starts and she looks set for a bright career. She will start from the No. 4 barrier in the $23,000 Ramsays Horse Transport Pace over 2130m at second appearance after a ten-month absence. She resumed in style with a strong-finishing easy victory over Hunt The Magic at Pinjarra on Monday of last week.
Both My Watchlist and Scooter B have the class to overcome the disadvantage of starting from the outside barrier (No. 9) in the Larkhill Vets Your Equine Specialists Pace and the Go To Allwood Stud Pace, respectively.
My Watchlist has resumed after a spell in good style with a first-up second to Belly Up, followed by an effortless three-length victory over Kurios Boy. He has the ability to be strongly competitive against Thelittle Master, Star Casino and Marbeechsam.
Thelittle Master, trained by Greg and Skye Bond, is better drawn at barrier four, and Deni Roberts is confident the four-year-old, a winner at eight of his 37 starts, will prove hard to beat, saying: “This looks like an all right race for him, particularly with the draw advantage over the horses who appear to be his main rivals.”
Three-year-old Scooter B will be tested from his wide barrier by his older and more experienced rivals. But he is a classy Bettors Delight gelding who has been placed behind his brilliant stablemate Cyclone Jordy at his past two starts.