Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Genial Bunbury trainer Bob Mellsop loves a chat and is never lost for a word. But at Gloucester Park on Friday night his instruction to driver Lauren Harper was extremely brief and to the point as she was preparing to take Gully Gum on to the track to contest the $29,000 Westside Auto Memorial Day Stakes over 2130m.
“The plan was to lead,” said Mellsop. “And I said to Lauren I’ve got one word for you, and I said ‘launch’ and she said, ‘you beauty.’
Gully Gum, having his first start for six weeks, was a tote outsider at $36.20 and even better value at $61 on the fixed market, with punters generally disregarding him, mainly because he was starting out wide at barrier seven.
Harper followed Mellsop’s instruction, and she urged Gully Gum forward at the start and the five-year-old quickly dashed past the $1.45 favourite Menemsha, who began speedily from the No. 5 barrier.
The lead time was a fast 35.8sec., but Harper then was able to get Gully Gum to relax through the opening quarters of 30.7sec. and 29.3sec. Gully Gum then sprinted over the final 400m sections in 28.5sec. and 28.4sec. and won by a half-length from the $26 chance Major Freeway, who trailed Gully Gum all the way. Golden Lode ($4) was last in the middle stages before sustaining a powerful run to finish third, just ahead of Menemsha.
Harper has enjoyed a good association with Gully Gum, having driven him six times for three wins and a third placing.
The South Australian-bred Gully Gum is by American sire Huntsville and is the second foal out of Modern Art mare Dorothy Hester, who raced 30 times for two wins and eight placings. Five-year-old Gully Gum has now earned $93,002 from 12 wins and 11 placings from 30 starts.