Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
New Zealand-bred five-year-old My Ultimate Chevron, who has finished last at his past three starts, but impressed in a recent trial, will attract considerable attention when he reappears after an absence of 19 months.
He will resume racing in the $20,000 Moonstream Information Services Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night when he will line up from barrier seven in the 2130m event.
My Ultimate Chevron is trained by Michael Young and will be handled by Maddison Brown, who drove the Sweet Lou gelding in a 2185m trial at Pinjarra on Wednesday of last week.
He was restrained at the start from barrier four in the trial field of seven and settled last about 30 metres behind the pacemaker Soho Santorini. He was sixth in the one-wide line at the bell before being switched three wide 300m from home, and he ran on solidly without being extended to finish third, five lengths behind Soho Santorini. The final 400m was run in a slick 27.8sec.
His previous public appearance was in a 2150m trial at Byford in January this year when, driven by Gary Hall Jnr, he raced in fourth place in a field of six before finishing powerfully to be a close second to the pacemaker Ideal Tomado, rating 1.59, with a final quarter of 27.6sec.
My Ultimate Chevron has a good record of 42 starts for ten wins, eight seconds and four thirds for stakes of $132,197. He made a dream start to his career when he won the Group 3 Sapling Stakes for two-year-olds at Ashburton in February 2021.
He began from the outside barrier in the field of eight and was restrained to the rear. He was still last 300m from home before finishing strongly to hit the front 80m from the post and beat the pacemaker Tide And Time, rating 1.56.5 over 1609m.
My Ultimate Chevron raced 12 times in New Zealand for two wins and two placings before being sent to Australia where he won seven times in New South Wales and once in Canberra, as well as having three starts in Queensland for one second placing.
At his final start in eastern Australia My Ultimate Chevron began from a wide barrier over 2300m at Menangle in August last year when he raced at the rear and finished last in the field of ten.
His first appearance in Western Australia was over 2130m at Gloucester Park last December 22 when he began fast from barrier four and made an unsuccessful bid for the early lead before dropping back to finish last in the field of twelve.
Then he began out wide at barrier eight over 2130m on December 29, enjoyed a favourable trip in the one-out, one-back position and wilted to finish last in the field of eight.
Young has shown exemplary skill at producing pacers in top condition to win first-up at Gloucester Park, and punters are sure to rally behind him and My Ultimate Chevron on Friday night.
One of My Ultimate Chevron’s most dangerous rivals is likely to be the Mike Reed-trained Flying Rumour, who is the only runner on the back line. Flying Rumour was most impressive in a 1730m event last Friday night when he began from the outside of the back line and sustained a powerful three-wide burst from tenth at the bell to finish fourth behind My Ultimate Baxter.
Leading reinsman Shannon Suvaljko has given punters a strong lead by choosing to drive Flying Rumour ahead of the Debbie Padberg-trained State Of Heaven and Classic Choice.