Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Exciting four-year-old Mister Smartee moved a step closer to endorsing his standing as a champion by winning the $450,000 WA Pacing Cup on November 8 when he hardly raised a sweat in crushing his rivals in the $100,000 The Running Camel James Brennan Memorial at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The New Zealand-bred pacer, trained by Gary Hall Snr and driven by Gary Hall Jnr, was the $1.30 favourite when he notched his seventh successive victory at Gloucester Park, setting the pace and beating $15 chance Sangue Reale by one and a half lengths.
He coasted through the opening 400m sections of the final mile in 30.5sec. and 29.5sec. before zipping over the final quarters in 27.8sec. and 27.4sec. and rating 1.57.2 over 2536m.
Hall Jnr was full of praise for Mister Smartee, saying that the gelding was still on the path of a steep learning curve.
“I’m trying to teach him how to race,” he explained. “In big races you’ve got to ask him to come out, and that is my focus, getting him out of the gate.
“Tonight, I asked him to come out, and he did it easily. His speed is one of his biggest assets, and he is a super-fast horse. I think he is capable of holding out (brilliant beginner) Pinny Tiger.”
Queried why he pulled the ear plugs on the home turn, Hall replied: “It’s because I’m teaching him to run through the line. He could have won with plugs in. It’s not always the case of him having it all his own way, turning for home two lengths clear.
“Tonight, he was comfortable, doing what he did. And he has good bottom to him, as well.”
Mister Smartee was, by far, the most inexperienced runner in Friday night’s event, and he now has contested just 14 events for 12 wins and $230,826 in prizemoney. His two New Zealand starts as a two-year-old resulted in a head second to Da Vinci over 1980m at Addington in October 2022 and a win by a nose over Sinbad over the same journey at Addington the following month.
Mister Smartee is by American sire Always B Miki and is the second foal out of the unraced New Zealand mare Luna Danza, whose first foal Divaca was retired after two unplaced runs as a four-year-old.
Luna Danza’s third and fourth foals, Onedarknight and Sonofamistery, have yet to race. Luna Danza’s half-brother Our Toto had 38 starts for 12 wins, ten placings and $107,952. Our Toto’s final 33 starts were for the Hall stable in WA for 11 wins between 2008 and 2011.