Hopeland trainer Giles Inwood is looking forward keenly to a new experience watching the first square-gaiter he has prepared contesting the Etch Coatings Mobile Sandblasting Trot over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“Tenno Sho is ready to run a good race and I’ll be disappointed if he doesn’t finish in the top three,” Inwood said. “I have leased him from Nathan Turvey and he arrived at my stables on Monday of last week. Nathan said that Tenno Sho (who has a losing sequence of 11) needed a change of environment.
“Tenno Show is a bit more highly strung than my pacers. I lead him in his work and take him to the beach.”
Inwood has engaged Chris Voak to drive Tenno Sho and Voak was impressed when he handled the seven-year-old in a workout on the Byford track on Tuesday morning, saying: “He’s a good frontrunner and a good each-way chance.”
Tenno Sho, who should appreciate the prize No. 1 barrier, won five times in Victoria before Turvey prepared him for six wins (four at Pinjarra and two at Bunbury). He has raced nine times at Gloucester Park for three seconds and two thirds.
Considerable interest will centre on the Nigel Johns-trained Rock Tonight, who will be driven by Morgan Woodley from the outside barrier (No. 9) on the front line. Rock Tonight, a New Zealand-bred eight-year-old, gave a powerful performance at his second appearance in Western Australia when he worked hard in the breeze before finishing with great determination to win from the pacemaker Lord Liam over 2692m at Pinjarra on Monday of last week.
Rock Tonight, who has a history of erratic behaviour in his races, is sure to prove very hard to beat if he trots smoothly on Friday night when he will again clash with the brilliant Bob Mellsop-trained Lord Liam, who will be driven by Maddison Brown from barrier seven.
Lord Liam had won eight times in a row before his last-start defeat and he again will be a strong contender this week when his clash with Rock Tonight, Tenno Sho, Ton Tine, Spud, Tokyo Joe and Lightning Calder should provide plenty of action.
Ken Casellas