Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Unbeaten gelding Never Ending has led all the way in four of his eight victories, but champion reinsman Gary Hall Jnr is not fazed at his wide barrier at No. 8 in the $50,000 Team Bond Pearl Classic for three-year-olds at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“It’s not ideal but Never Ending is versatile and has blinding speed,” said Hall. “He gets keen when he leads, and it just shows how good he is when it doesn’t worry him when he overraces. He settles good when he goes back and gets on to a helmet.
“He will be hard to beat whatever he does. I think we will go back on Friday night unless Justin (trainer Justin Prentice) has other ideas. If we go back, we can put him into the race whenever we like.”
Never Ending has not been seriously challenged in winning at all of his eight starts, and it is in his favour that his most likely danger Rocket City, trained and driven by Dylan Egerton-Green will start on his outside at barrier No. 9.
In a qualifying heat on Tuesday of last week Never Ending led from the No. 2 barrier and won by just over a length from Rocket City, who finished strongly after racing in third position in the Indian file affair in which the final 400m sections were covered in 27.6sec. and 27.3sec.
Prentice and Hall will be looking to notch their second victory in the Three-Year-Old Pearl, after Gardys Legacy led all the way from the No. 1 barrier and defeated Valentines Brook in 2020.
The Three-Year-Old Pearl has been run only five times, and Chris Lewis has been successful twice — with Jack Mac in 2018 and Lavra Joe in 2021. He will drive heat winner Magnus Victor for Capel trainer Aiden De Campo from the No. 2 barrier on the back line.
De Campo also won a qualifying heat with Sorridere, and he will drive that gelding from the No. 6 barrier on the front line. Sorridere impressed when he finished strongly from fourth at the bell to beat the pacemaker Rolling Fire.
Soho Firestone, who trailed the pacemaker Never Ending in a heat before finishing two lengths behind that pacer, will start from barrier five in the final on Friday night when he will be driven by Mitch Miller for trainer Kim Prentice.
“I’m glad Soho Firestone has drawn inside Never Ending, Sorridere and Rocket City, and not outside of them,” said Prentice. “So, he’s probably got to take the advantage of this.
“In the heat he was chasing home a freakish horse. Regarding tactics, it will be up to Mitch; it will be his decision. But from barrier five he has probably got to go forward and try to find a hole.”