Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Michael Young is making a flying start to the 2025 season and after the first nine weeks of the year he has raced away to a commanding lead on the WA trainers’ premiership table.
He completed a double at Gloucester Park on Friday night when Emily Suvaljko drove Ideal Tomado to victory in the $21,000 3000 Vehicles Westside Auto Wholesale Handicap, 90 minutes after his star mare Penny Black had won the Group 3 Lombardo Pace.
Young leads the premiership table with 30 winners from 95 starters and is well clear of Dylan Egerton-Green (19 winners) and Lang Inwood (17).
Ideal Tomado began from the 30m mark and was the third favourite at $8.30 in Friday night’s event in which Greatgreat Boulder was a warm $2.05 favourite from 10m.
Greatgreat Boulder galloped at the start and lost about 35m, while Ideal Tomado settled down in sixth position. Sound Wave ($34) led early before Lamandier ($8.50) dashed to the front 550m after the start, leaving Ideal Tomado in the breeze.
Suvaljko made a winning move when she urged Ideal Tomado forward to take up the running with 1400m to travel, and the eight-year-old went on to win by a neck from Star Casino, the $3.30 second fancy and sole backmarker off 40 metres.
This was Ideal Tomado’s first win in a stand (from five attempts), and it took his record to 84 starts for 14 wins, 23 placings and $140,003.
“I did a little bit too much early and didn’t have much left,” said Suvaljko. “But down the back he cruised away from Star Casino.”
Young was happy with Ideal Tomado’s win, saying: “He has been pretty consistent and is usually hard to beat when he finds the front.”