Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Six-year-old Pinny Tiger warmed up for the $300,000 Retravision Fremantle Cup next Friday night in grand style with a decisive win in the $31,000 TABtouch Parliamentarians Cup over 2536m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Pinny Tiger is part-owned and trained by Michael Brennan, an Olympic gold medallist who was recently honoured with his induction into the Australian Hockey Hall Of Fame.
Pinny Tiger was third favourite at $5 when Chris Voak drove skilfully to land him the winner at a 1.55.6 rate, beating $16 chance Steel the Show by almost two lengths, with the $3.40 favourite Tenzing Bromac a half-head away in third place.
Pinny Tiger began smartly from out wide at barrier seven and he made life tough for his rivals with quarters of the final mile in 28.6sec., 28.3sec., 28.5sec. and 29.4sec. Diego ($3.70) was in the breeze early before Deni Roberts dashed Steel The Show forward in the first lap to assume that position, forcing Valentines Brook to be restrained from third (three wide) back to last.
Tenzing Bromac was ninth on settling down before Dylan Egerton-Green sent him forward, three wide, with 1450m to travel to move to the breeze.
Steel The Show and his stablemate Tenzing Bromac fought on determinedly but were no match for the free-flowing Pinny Tiger.
“From barrier seven it wasn’t the plan to lead,” explained Voak. “The plan was to time the start and let him begin comfy, using his natural speed. Then, after that, if he was in a position to get across to the rail, it was up to me to make that call. I just gave him a few cracks with the shillelagh after about a hundred metres, and we got across comfortably.
“He showed good stamina, and I was impressed with him. He won comfortably after I popped the plugs 50m from the line, and he found enough to pull away from the opposition.”
Voak said that Pinny Tiger was not just a frontrunner, explaining that the gelding had considerable strength and was a good horse when racing with a sit. “It is not easy to burn out from barrier seven and go on and win the way he did,” he said.
Brennan said that he was not concerned that the long distance of the Fremantle Cup would worry Pinny Tiger. “Everyone consider he is just a speed horse, but tonight he showed that he has a big heart. Any horse who can run 1.51.2 around Gloucester Park (like Pinny Tiger did when he won the 1730m Nights Of Thunder from Tenzing Bromac in January 2023) has got to be able to stay.”
Pinny Tiger has earned $294,506 from 18 wins, 12 seconds and one third from 48 starts.