THEY don’t call him “Mini Quinny” without good reason.
The pint-sized Chicago Bull gets around Gloucester Park like no other horse since his former champion stablemate Im Themightyquinn and looks to be every bit as good at the stage of their careers.
Chicago Bull’s CV actually reads better at the same stage given he completed the big Fremantle/WA Pacing Cup double as four-year-old earlier this year.
And now he’s back racing – and winning – with the Perth Inter Dominion firmly in his sights.
It’s hard to know what was better, Chicago Bull’s performance or Gary Hall Jr’s drive for the first-up win at Gloucester Park last Friday night.
It was the gelding’s first run since winning the WA Cup in January, but Hall Jr drove him like he was primed, launched him around the field from last-to-first in the middle stages, and won in breathtaking fashion.
Chicago Bull’s last three splits of a 1min53.2sec mile rate for 1730m were amazing … 27.5, 28.1 and 28.1sec. That’s 1min23.6sec for his last 1200m. Wow!
“The wide draw and short trip worried me, but Gaz (Hall Jr) made it look easy with a drive like that,” trainer Gary Hall Sr said. “I knew he’d have to go super to win and I was right. A 1min53.2sec mile rate first-up for so long is pretty amazing.
“It looks like he’s come back even better and that’s what we hoped. It’s great we’ve got the Inter Dominion in our own back yard again this year.”
Chicago Bull’s record is an impressive 31 starts for 19 wins, eight placings and almost $900,000 in earnings. This season he’s already earned $630,000.
The news wasn’t as good for Hall Sr in last Friday night’s free-for-all where he best he could manage was third with Run Oneover, while his other stable star Beaudiene Boaz finished eighth.
Classy mare Tricky Styx made the most of gate one to lead and driver Dylan Egerton-Green just cut her loose for a career-best all-the-way win in a sizzling 1min54.8sec mile rate for 2536m.
To give some perspective, Tricky Styx’s time was just 0.1sec outside Im Themightyquinn’s track record set on February 16, 2013.
SHOCK losses to the Allstars’ Sicario and Team Tritton’s buzz juvenile Divine State has thrown the NSW Breeders Challenge 2YO colts and geldings final into confusion.
Divine State, a record-breaking 1min51.6sec winner earlier this season, didn’t even qualify for the June 25 final when crossed at the start, badly stuck in traffic and sixth to $151 outsider Captain Cosmonaut in the second semi.
In continued a frustrating back half of the season given Divine State badly overraced and choked down late as a hot favourite in the Bathurst Gold final in March.
Sicario suffered just the second defeat in his six-start career when rundown late after leading and appearing to have his chance in the first semi by highly-rated Tassie juvenile Ignatius.
In Sicario’s defence, he drew wide, worked hard around the field to take the lead in quick splits and Ignatius had the cold sit on him and proved too strong late in a 27.3sec closing quarter of a very slick 1min52.6sec mile.
Sicario could still start favourite in the final with the right draw.
Ignatius, trained by Todd Rattray and driven by his brother Jim, won his first three starts for Todd in Tassie before leading and tiring late for third to Jilliby Lorenzo in his Breeders Challenge heat.
The son of Roll With Joe obviously improved a lot of that performance to upstage Sicario in the semi.
Victorian raiders won both semis of the 2YO fillies’ division of Breeders Challenge with Jilliby Galwaygirl and Molly Kelly leading throughout.
Molly Kelly will be favourite for the final, but Frith’s baby sister has been far from dominant in her heat and semi and is certainly no good thing.
Molly Kelly’s stablemate, Heavens Trend, has the Breeders Challenge 4YO Mares’ final at her mercy after the most dominant of semi wins. She sat parked and zoomed away to win by 15.7m in a 1min52.6sec mile.
FORMER top Allstars barn youngster Kept Under Wraps is enjoying a Queensland renaissance for new trainer Vicki Rasmussen.
The Bettors Delight five-year-old narrowly but impressively won the Group 3 Redcliffe Gold Cup (2613m) last Friday night.
The big story of the Cup was the inglorious flop of former star Kiwi pacer Hughie Green, who started his Queensland career in great style, but obviously has some issues.
He didn’t pace well when fourth at Albion Park two starts back, then looked a mess and galloped twice in the run when tailed-off in the Cup.
Stewards’ stood down him down pending a trial, which is not ideal with Queensland’s winter riches just around the corner.
FORMER Kiwi youngster Jack Mac has been a revelation since going to Western Australia.
The son of Mach Three was an early goer in NZ’s North Island, but the best he could manage was a fourth from five starts between December 16, last year and March 23.
It’s a complete contrast in WA where he’s unbeaten in four starts for trainer Barry Howlett, including a dominant display in last Friday night’s $100,000 Pearl final (2130m) at Gloucester Park.
Chris Lewis drove as though he was on the best horse, forced the issue from the breeze and powered clear to win by 10.3m in a sharp 1min55.9sec mile rate.
Sure there’s a query over the calibre of opposition Jack Mac beat, but to sit parked and blow them away in that sort of time says he’s a bit special.
IT was great to see last season’s Breeders Crown 3YO Fillies’ champ Rocknroll Magic return to winning form at Melton last Friday night.
In a small, but quality field, Rocknroll Magic showed the benefit of fitness at her sixth start back from a long spell when outstayed her rivals in a 1min55.9sec mile rate for 2240m.
Much interest focused on Kerryn Manning’s comeback mare Supersonic Miss, who had won nine on end, but not raced for well over a year because of injury.
Knowing she was short on race fitness, Manning worked to the front then took a sit on Rocknroll Magic and was thrilled with Supersonic Miss’s solid second.
Rocknroll Magic was one of four wins on a dominant night for trainer Emma Stewart, who also scored with juveniles Nostra Villa and Poster Boy as well as Solarsonic in the last race.
MATTY Craven is a seriously emerging training force.
Craven’s had plenty of success in a string of recent Menangle raids, but it was back home in Victoria where he snared the Group 2 Holmfield with promising three-year-old trotting filly Four Walls at Melton last Friday night.
Remarkably that was the filly’s first win and came after finishing second in the NSW Trotters’ Derby and Victoria Trotters’ Oaks as well as fourth in the NSW Oaks.
HOPEFULLY you keep hearing and reading a lot more about San Carlo.
Last week in this I column I wrote how much I hoped the injury-plagued six-year-old stayed sound and again he reminded everyone why with what is best described as an arrogant win at Bendigo last Saturday night.
It was his 15th win from 17 starts and by far his best when you consider he sat parked and toyed with a field containing classy mare Bettor Downunder, former top three-year-old Menin Gate and the promising Brallos Pass.
San Carlo is so talented there is even talk about whisking him up to Queensland for the Winter Carnival.
The other star act at Bendigo was Victoria Derby winner Our Little General’s 12.1m win in the Bendigo Guineas in a 1min56.1sec mile rate for 2150m. It was his 11th win from 20 starts.
Adam Hamilton