To Fast To Serious is a rising star
Top-flight reinsman Aldo Cortopassi lavished praise on To Fast To Serious after driving the brilliant four-year-old to a runaway victory in the group 3 Im Themightyquinn Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
He declared the gelding, a $10,000 purchase at the 2017 Perth yearling sale, had the raw ability to develop into a star performer in top company and said that he would not be out of place in the Fremantle Cup and WA Pacing Cup in the next few weeks.
“To Fast To Serious is doing a great job going through the classes and it would be very hard not to be pleased with his first-up performance tonight,” Cortopassi said. “He’s matured into a lovely horse, just looking at his body shape.
“I think the connections are thinking about throwing their hat into the ring and hoping he can get a start in the big Cups. Looking at the criteria, I think he matches up okay.
“The only problem with running in the Cups is that they are so close at hand and he’ll be pretty fresh. But in saying that, class horses are always better fresh.
“I’m excited at the prospect of To Fast To Serious racing against Chicago Bull and Shockwave. He can sit back off them in genuinely-run races and let them have their fight out — and their drivers would have to keep an eye on the rear vision mirror. To Fast To Serious will follow speed all day; he’s on the way up, and it’s exciting times.”
To Fast To Serious, produced in superb condition for his first run for 15 weeks by astute Mt Helena trainer Ray Williams, was favourite at $2.40 from barrier two on the back line in Friday night’s $30,000 feature event.
He settled in sixth position, one-out and two-back, with the $3.30 second fancy Triroyale Brigade leading for the first 80m before being crossed by the speedy Radiant Amber ($31). Robbie Williams was not content to take the sit behind Radiant Amber and he dashed Triroyale Brigade back into the lead 230m later.
Cortopassi sent To Fast To Serious forward with a three-wide burst 900m from home and he was able to take the one-out, one-back position at the 650m mark when rank outsider Beach Skipper began to tire.
To Fast To Serious then charged forward, three wide at the 300m mark and he burst to the front 80m later before racing away to win by three lengths from Triroyale, with Radiant Amber finishing third and $5 chance Euphoric Moment running strongly into fourth place.
To Fast To Serious sprinted over the final 800m in 56.2sec. and rated 1.56.1 over the 2130m journey. By American stallion Shadow Play out of former smart New Zealand-bred mare Smile With Me, To Fast To Serious has earned $131,737 from 12 wins and three seconds from just 18 starts.
Gear change aids Our Alfie Romeo
Classy pacer Our Alfie Romeo bounced back to her best form and warmed up in style for the coming rich feature events for mares with a dashing all-the-way victory in the $22,000 Etch Coatings Free-For-All over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Star reinsman Ryan Warwick attributed Our Alfie Romeo’s stylish performance to a well thought-out gear change, describing the addition for the first time of a one-legged spreader as a major secret of her success.
Our Alfie Romeo, prepared by champion trainers Greg and Skye Bond, was third favourite at $4.10 and revealed sparkling gate speed from the No. 4 barrier to burst to the front after 80m. She then relished her frontrunning role and sped over the final quarters in 28.8sec. and 27.9sec. to win by just over a half-length from Somebeachsomeparty ($3.80), with the fast-finishing Queen Shenandoah ($21) finishing powerfully from the rear to be an eye-catching third.
The winner, a New Zealand-bred five-year-old by Washington VC, rated 1.56.6 and improved her record to 53 starts for 21 wins, 12 placings and $317,130 in prizemoney.
Among her four feature victories, Our Alfie Romeo set the pace and easily beat Arma Indie in the Norms Daughter Classic 12 months ago. She is sure to be a leading candidate for the $50,000 Norms Daughter Classic next Friday night and the $125,000 Westral Classic two weeks later.
“Our Alfie Romeo has been close to hitting her knees, and I think she has been sitting on about 80 per cent,” Warwick said. “So, we put the one-legged spreader on to give her a bit of confidence, in case she needed it. And she’s won pretty easily tonight.
“She does like it in front, and she wasn’t 80 per cent tonight; she was closer to 95 per cent. And I think there’s a little bit more there.”
Mandy Joan, the $3 favourite in Friday night’s race, enjoyed the one-out, one-back trail, but did not threaten danger and finished sixth, while Gotta Go Gabbana ($4.80) worked hard in the breeze and finished fourth.
Wainui Creek overcomes serious setback
Quality four-year-old Wainui Creek, a group 1 winner at Addington last February, overcame a major setback before scoring an effortless victory in the 2130m Direct Trades Supply Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
She raced for the entire race with a completely flat nearside sulky tyre and shrugged off that disadvantage as she set the pace and won by 5m from Sergeant Oats, rating 1.58.
It was a commanding performance from the $3.90 chance after finishing a nose second to Millwood Molly and then fading after a tough run to finish ninth behind Balcatherine at her first two starts in Western Australia.
Star reinsman Ryan Warwick said that it was an impressive display, revealing that the nearside sulky tyre was flat from the outset. “I think that going on to the track I might have pinched the tube,” he explained. “As soon as we took off the tyre was flat.”
Warwick said that Wainui Creek was fitted with hood type blinkers for the first time in WA. “They said in New Zealand that we should try them, but her work at home was so good that we thought we didn’t need to. But she wasn’t bringing her form to the races, so we tried the blinkers tonight, and obviously it worked.
“At her first run here, I thought she should have run past the leader, but she didn’t. He second run was a hard race to win, but I thought she should have finished closer.”
Outstanding trainers Greg and Skye Bond are now likely to have two strong prospects in next Friday night’s $50,000 Norms Daughter Classic — Wainui Creek and Our Alfie Romeo, who was also an impressive all-the-way winner on Friday night. His would leave Warwick a difficult choice.
“Decisions like that are good because you’ve got two bullets in the gun,” said Warwick. “The wins by both the mares were good. That’s what we needed both of them to do, to get some confidence.”
Vampiro on target for the Cups
Tough frontrunning pacer Vampiro showed that he is well and truly on target for the $300,000 Fremantle Cup on next Friday week and the $450,000 WA Pacing Cup a fortnight later when Colin Brown drove that New Zealand-bred six-year-old to an all-the-way victory in the 2536m Cowden The Insurance Brokers Free-For-All at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The Rocknroll Hanover gelding, prepared by leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond, was favourite at $1.70 and after final quarters of 27.7sec. and 28.3sec. he held on determinedly to beat stablemates Galactic Star ($18) and Our Jimmy Johnstone ($12) in a punishing finish.
Vampiro ran out slightly in the home straight and locked spider wheels with Galactic Star (Dylan Egerton-Green) in the final couple of strides. Egerton-Green contemplated lodging a protest, but he decided against it after viewing the finishing stages of the race in the stewards’ room.
Mighty Conqueror ($3.60) gave the Bond stable the distinction of preparing the first four placegetters when he fought on doggedly into fourth place, just ahead of $51 outsider Vultan Tin, who impressed in charging home, out four wide, from tenth at the bell.
Brown said that the distances of the 2536m Fremantle Cup and the 2936m WA Pacing Cup would not worry Vampiro.
“He showed that last January when he led in both the Cups and finished a head second to Caviar Star in the Fremantle Cup and a head second to Mighty Conqueror in the Pacing Cup, rating 1.54.2 and 1.56.5, respectively,” he said.
Vampiro’s win on Friday night came two weeks after he had set the pace and finished a close second to Galactic Star over 2536m. “I was aware of the horse (Stroke Of Luck) sitting on his back, and I don’t think it suited Vampiro (holding him back to deny a clear run for Stroke Of Luck),” Brown said.
“Tonight, I let him run pretty well from the 900m, and he’s more suited to that. He’ll be one of the contenders for the Cups, with his gate speed. If he draws the front line, his gate speed is enormous.
“He is getting fitter and Greg and Skye have got him pretty well on target.”
Vampiro has been a grand campaigner for his owners Skye Bond and Rob Gartrell and the six-year-old has now amassed $562,634 from 25 wins and 21 placings from 66 starts.
Star reinsman Ryan Warwick, who drove Mighty Conqueror in Friday night’s race, was disappointed with the five-year-old’s fourth placing after enjoying an ideal trip one-out and one-back, saying: “He just flatlined a little bit. I think he’s sitting about 80 per cent. He should have been on the horse’s back in front of him a lot better. He should have been able to pull out and sprint. But he didn’t.”
Six in a row for Perfect Major
Up-and-coming four-year-old Perfect Major improved his winning sequence to six when Chris Voak drove him to an effortless victory in the 2130m Simmonds Steel Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
He was a red hot favourite at $1.04 and his 19m win over Angel In White greatly impressed outstanding trainer Ross Olivieri, who is toying with the idea of setting him for the upcoming Fremantle and WA Pacing Cups.
“He won with the plugs in and now I might have to reassess his program,” Olivieri said. “I don’t know whether we’re biting off more than we can chew, but I’ve got to think about the big Cups. I think he can measure up, and so can Stroke Of Luck, who is no slouch.
“Perfect Major is a funny horse. He looks after himself at home where his trackwork is good but he’s very laid back. Going on what he’s like at home, you wouldn’t believe what he is doing in his races.”
From the No. 1 barrier on Friday night, Perfect Major led for the first 100m before the flying Dominate The Dojo burst to the front. Voak then switched Perfect Major off the pegs and regained the lead 100m later and the Art Major gelding left his rivals in his wake when he sizzled over the final three quarters in 28.6sec., 28.4sec. and 28.2sec.
Perfect Major now has raced 30 times for 12 wins, nine placings and stakes of $109,965.
Star Fromthepalace is getting better
Ultra-consistent pacer Star Fromthepalace boosted her earnings past the $100,000 mark and showed that she would be not out of place in the upcoming Norms Daughter Classic and the $125,000 Westral Classic when she gave a strong frontrunning performance to win the 2130m Westral Pace for three-year-old fillies at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Aldo Cortopassi took full advantage of the prized No. 1 barrier and he rated the Peter Anderson-trained filly perfectly, who after a modest lead time of 38.1sec. and slow opening quarter of 31.2sec., sped over the final three 400m sections in 28.4sec., 28.4sec. and 28.1sec. to beat Miss Lamarr and Misstiano.
“She went super,” said Cortopassi. “She has matured into a nice horse who is not so revvy now. Peter has taken a lot of gear off her and has made her not so angry.
“If she gets a good draw in the big races for fillies and mares, the others will know that she’s there. I’m sure that she wouldn’t have been disgraced if she had contested tonight’s race for mares (won by Our Alfie Romeo).”
Star Fromthepalace, bred and owned by Bob Fowler, won twice from 14 starts as a two-year-old and now boasts a splendid record of 34 starts for nine wins, 13 placings and $108,306 in prizemoney.
Argyle Red likes the No. 1 barrier
Veteran pacer Argyle Red continues to race with admirable enthusiasm for owner-breeder Rob MacDonald and the eight-year-old excels when he draws the perfect No. 1 barrier.
Going into the 2130m Catalano Truck And Equipment Sales Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night with a sequence of seven unplaced efforts, Argyle Red was a solidly-supported $3 favourite, with Morgan Woodley in the sulky.
Woodley jumped Argyle Red straight into the lead and after a slow lead time of 38.1sec . and leisurely opening quarters of 32.2sec. and 29.6sec. the gelding sped over the final quarter in 27.7sec. and 27.6sec. to win at a 1.57.2 rate from Jimmy Mack (who trailed the leader throughout) and Rock me Over (who raced three back on the pegs).
Argyle Red has won six times after starting from the No. 1 barrier at Gloucester Park and he has also run two seconds from the inside draw. He has been a wonderful moneyspinner for the Pinjarra based MacDonald, with his 143 starts producing 19 wins and 32 placings for earnings of $283,755.
Makoczar the first leg of Voak double
The battle for the honour of the State’s leading driver for the 2019-20 season continued at Gloucester Park on Friday night with Ryan Warwick and Chris Voak each landing a double.
Warwick took a one-win lead with an early double behind Our Alfie Romeo before Voak regained the lead with wins late in the program with Makoczar and Perfect Major. Voak now has landed 238 winners from 1356 drives and Warwick has 237 winners from 766 drives.
Makoczar, trained by Voak’s mother Linley, was the $3 second fancy in the 2503m standing start Retravision Handicap, and despite racing roughly early Makoczar dashed to an early lead and went on to set the pace and win by a neck from $16 chance Allwoods Rocknroll, who trailed the pacemaker throughout.
The $1.85 favourite J B Mauney was slow into stride from the 20m back mark and was ninth with just 550m to travel before finishing solidly, out five wide, to be fifth.
This was Makoczar’s fourth Gloucester Park victory and the big four-year-old was raced 30 times for ten wins, four placings and $57,057 in prizemoney.
Rejuvenated Maras Ace Man shines
Veteran pacer Maras Ace Man, who managed one win from his first 95 starts, is thriving under the care of Capel trainer-reinsman Aiden de Campo and he notched his eleventh win from his past 37 starts when he caused an upset by finishing powerfully to beat the pacemaker and $3.10 favourite Thereugo in the 2130m Westside Auto Wholesale Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Maras Ace Man, owned by talented young reinsman Michael Grantham and Kurt Pellington, was a $12.30 chance who was restrained at the start from the No. 5 barrier.
De Campo cleverly angled Maras Ace Man across to the pegs and the eight-year-old raced in sixth position on the inside before getting into the clear and finishing strongly to hit the front 25m from the post. This improved his record to 132 starts for 12 wins, 18 placings and stakes of $101,523.
Alta Rhett holds on
Four-year-olds Alta Rhett and Taroona Bromac were the youngest runners in the 2130m Better Your Bet With TABtouch Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night and they dominated betting, with Taroona Bromac starting favourite at $2.20 and Alta Rhett quoted at $2.80.
However, the anticipated struggle did not eventuate, with Nathan Turvey jumping Alta Rhett straight to the front, and Taroona Bromac breaking into a fierce gallop moments after the mobile barrier had sent the field of 11 on its way.
Alta Rhett, trained in Bunbury by Sarah Wall, bowled along in front with Im Rocknroll Magic ($12) in the breeze. Taroona Bromac was tailed of a distant last.
Alta Rhett held on grimly to hold on and defeat $34 outsider Black Jack Zac by a head, with $41 outsider Extreme Prince finishing strongly from sixth at the bell to be a nose away in third place. Mister Ardee came from three back on the pegs with an inside run to be a good fourth.
Taroona Bromac, who had begun brilliantly when an impressive all-the-way winner at Gloucester Park on Wednesday afternoon, made up ground to finish ninth. Reinsman Ryan Warwick explained that Taroona Bromac had himself to blame.
“He is too big and uncoordinated,” Warwick said. “He did it on Wednesday (getting away fast) and was trying to do it even quicker tonight. But he couldn’t.”
by Ken Casellas