Heez On Fire, bedevilled by injury, has not been successful for 19 months. But he is relishing a change of environment and a new harness racing training regimen and has sound prospects of returning to the winning list when he contests the Cowden Ltd Brokers Brennan Memorial over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Champion reinsman Chris Lewis again will be in the sulky and he has high hopes of notching his ninth victory in the Brennan Memorial (formerly the Brennan Cup) after scoring with Lord Maselle (1981), Black Irish (1993), Village Kid (1986, 1987 and 1990), Ohoka Ace (2005), Has The Answers (2010) and Dasher VC (2012).
Heez On Fire, a lightly-raced seven-year-old, has been leased by Rod Oliver and a handful of co-owners to veteran trainer Bill Horn and a victory in the $35,000 group 3 event this week would be a nostalgic occasion, rekindling the emotion generated by the wins of Black Irish and Village Kid in earlier Brennan Cups.
Horn, now 84, and Lewis, now 61, combined as trainer and driver for those victories.
Heez On Fire will be having his fifth start in his current preparation, after a seven-month absence and is close to his peak as Horn guides him towards the rich TABtouch interdominion championship series which gets under way with the opening set of heats on November 25.
Before this campaign Heez On Fire was prepared by Oliver and the gelding pulled up sore after finishing last in the group 2 $50,000 RWWA Cup at Gloucester Park last February — when he was resuming after an injury-enforced ten-month absence.
Veterinary surgeons at Murdoch Hospital were pessimistic about Heez On Fire’s future after the gelding’s break down in the RWWA Cup. He had a damaged shin bone in his near foreleg which was originally injured when he was caught up in a fence when rolling just after his first run as a three-year-old in January 2013.
It was then feared that Heez On Fire had torn a tendon. But this was not the case, and the pacer had his next start a month later when he managed a fair fifth in a race at Pinjarra. But he went sore again and had four months off before returning to win five in a row in the winter and spring of 2013.
Eight starts in 2014 produced six wins and Heez On Fire won at his first two appearances in 2015 before breaking down in the RWWA Cup. His problem was that he kept on going sore.
The seven-year-old is very athletic and doesn’t require a lot of hard work and Oliver identified Horn as the ideal trainer to nurse the pacer back to fitness and form. Horn’s recipe of a lot of beach work, slow jogging and pacework has done the trick.
Heez On Fire has enjoyed little luck in his first four runs back. He flew home for a thrilling first-up second to Libertybelle Midfrew and two starts later he was an unlucky third to Libertybelle Midfrew when he trailed the pacemaker and was hampered for room in the home straight.
Last Friday night Heez on Fire finished sixth behind Simply Susational. It was tremendous effort. He began speedily from barrier four and raced three wide in the early stages before Lewis had little option but to restrain him back to the rear. Heez On Fire was still last in the field of 12 at the bell before he finished powerfully.
Heez On Fire will begin from the No. 4 barrier this week and he should be able to slot into a prominent position in the one-wide line.
His clash with Beaudiene Boaz, Bettors Fire, Delightful Offer and Waylade should be the highlight of the ten-event program.
Beaudien Boaz, one of the four runners in the race prepared by champion trainer Gary Hall sen., is the likely favourite following his excellent second to Libertybelle Midfrew over 2130m last Friday week when he raced wide early and then enjoyed an ideal passage, one-out and one-back. He finished with great determination to lose by a head to the pacemaking Tricky Styx, who dashed over the final 800m in 56sec. and rated 1.54.2.
Beaudiene Boaz warmed up for this week’s race in fine style when he sprinted over the final 400m in a sparkling 26.8sec. to win a three-horse 2550m standing-start trial by ten lengths from stablemate Delightful Jade at Byford on Sunday morning.
Another Hall runner, Waylade, will also be fancied, particularly after he drew favourably at barrier two. He started a three-wide burst approaching the bell and came from seventh with a lap to travel to finish a close third to Simply Susational and Run Oneover last Friday night. That followed a solid strong-finishing third to Tricky Styx a week earlier.
The Kyle Harper-trained Bettors Fire, one of Western Australia’s main hopes at the interdominion championship series, faces a stern test from out wide at barrier No. 8. But he is certainly capable of a bold effort as is the up-and-coming five-year-old Delightful Offer, who was won at three of his past five starts for leading trainers Greg and Skye Bond.
Ken Casellas