Champion reinsman Gary Hall jun. has pledged he will drive Beaudiene Boaz aggressively in a bold attempt to win the $300,000 Retravision Fremantle Cup at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Hall has won the rich group 1 event six times (twice with The Falcon Strike, three times with Im Themightyquinn and with Im Victorious in 2014) and a win by Beaudiene Boaz would give his father Gary Hall sen. his sixth success in The Fremantle Cup as a trainer.
Beaudiene Boaz, a comparatively lightly-raced New Zealand-bred gelding, is the youngest runner in the Cup, but Hall jun. is confident the Badlands Hanover stallion has the class and versatility to prove the master of his 11 older rivals.
Beaudiene Boaz notched his 20th win from 27 starts when he made the most of the No. 1 barrier by leading all the way and beating stablemates My Hard Copy, John of Arc and Waylade at a 1.52.9 rate in the 1730m Village Kid Sprint last Friday night.
“Stepping up 2536m won’t be a problem,” Hall jun. said. “Winning the Golden Nugget over 2536m at a 1.55.7 rate at his previous start suggests that this week’s race won’t worry him.”
Beaudiene Boaz will start from barrier four on the front line on Friday night, with Hall declaring: “It’s a pretty good draw, really; it could’ve been worse. I’ll press forward and see what everyone wants to do. I expect John of Arc (barrier three) to get past Waylade (two) early and then I’d expect Beaudiene Boaz to run past John of Arc.”
Hall said he also anticipated that Chris Lewis to make a strong bid for the early lead from barrier five. “I held Lovers Delight with Waylade once when I drew three and he drew five. He tried to cross and Waylade held him comfortably,” he said.
“I’d say Beaudiene Boaz is a lot better beginner than Waylade. He’s got more natural speed. Ideally, I’d like Beaudiene Boaz to get to the front. Obviously, if Chris (Lewis) is coming out, Kyle (Harper) will have questions to answer with Bettors Fire from the No. 1 barrier. I can’t let Lovers Delight go because if he gets to the breeze he would be able to control the race.
“So I’ll be coming out hard and if I can’t get to the front I’ll be happy to race in the breeze. Beaudiene Boaz is race hard and he has pulled up well after last Friday night’s win.”
The Hall stable has six runners in Friday night’s Cup — Beaudiene Boaz, Waylade, John of Arc, Run Oneover (No. 6), Classic American (seven) and My Hard Copy (nine) and Hall sen. would dearly love to repeat his feat of landing the trifecta like he did with Im Themightyquinn, Alzona and Dartmoor in the Fremantle Cup in December 2009 when the race was a stand over 2902m. Since then the Fremantle Cup has been a mobile event.
GPTV spoke with Gary Hall Jnr about the chances of Beadiene Boaz, and all of his drives – watch the video HERE…