Champion harness racing reinsman Gary Hall jun. celebrated his 34th birthday by driving the Michael Brennan-trained Awesum Teddy to victory in a 2503m stand at Gloucester Park on Tuesday night and he hopes to continue in good form by landing Maidenimpression a winner of the third race, the Bill Steer Memorial Pace for three-year-old fillies, on Friday night.
Hall has driven Maidenimpression for Boyanup trainer Justin Prentice at the filly’s past three starts for a fast-finishing win in the Dainty’s Daughter Classic at Pinjarra, an unlucky fifth behind Jasmin Amal and an easy win in a heat of the Breeders Classic at Gloucester Park on Monday afternoon.
Maidenimpression is somewhat awkwardly drawn at barrier six in Friday night’s 2130m event, but Hall believes the filly by the $4 million earner Mister Big has the ability to overcome this disadvantage.
“She led from barrier one and got it all her own way on Monday,” he said. “But she still ran decent sectionals (30.6sec., 30.1sec., 28.4sec. and 27.7sec.). She’s a big-striding filly and she goes quicker than what you think she’s going. It felt like that she won in second gear.
“This will be a test from barrier six, but she’s probably good enough to go forward. Eventually she will be a role player from any draw.”
Ross Olivieri, an eight-time premiership trainer in WA, said that he Sheer Rocknroll was a big chance in the race if she was able to get to the front from the No. 2 barrier.
Sheer Rocknroll has won at eight of her 26 starts and is a splendid frontrunner. But Olivieri is concerned that she might not be able to cross the polemarker Maia Maguire, a filly trained by Prentice who made most of the running when an easy winner at Bunbury two starts ago.
Sheer Rocknroll will be handled by her usual reinsman Stuart McDonald, who was suspended on Tuesday night for four weeks after the stewards found him guilty of an unacceptable drive behind Sheer Rocknroll when she finished fifth and last behind Maidenimpression on Monday afternoon.
The stewards ruled that McDonald erred by electing to move Sheer Rocknroll from a one-wide position early in the race to the pegs, where he was unable to gain a clear run for the remainder of the race. McDonald’s penalty will start from midnight on Friday night.
Ken Casellas