Champion reinsman Chris Lewis has been engaged by Baldivis harness racing trainer Nathan Turvey to drive smart, lightly-raced mare Royal Myth in the $18,000 Choices Flooring Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Turvey will drive his other runner, Hidden Bad, who has returned to form with strong efforts at her past two starts.
Lewis has not driven the New Zealand-bred Royal Myth, who has created a good impression with eight wins from her 14 starts in Western Australia. She is a good frontrunner and looks hard to beat from the prized No. 1 barrier.
Royal Myth reappeared after an absence of nine months when she started from the back line over 2130m last Friday week. The Royal Mattjesty mare was heavily supported and started at 9/4. She raced one-out and two-back in sixth place before Turvey sent her forward, three wide at the bell.
However, she failed to flatter and finished tenth, seven lengths behind the winner Gota Good Lookadda.
Hidden Bad, who will start from barrier five on the front line on Friday night, revealed excellent fighting qualities when she worked hard in the breeze and battled on determinedly to finish third behind Forever Remembered and Gota Good Lookadda over 2130m last Friday night.
At her previous outing, two weeks earlier, Hidden Bad settled down in ninth place before Turvey sent her forward, three wide, after 720m. She then raced in the breeze and got to the front 250m from home before winning by almost two lengths from Forever Remembered.
The Turvey-trained mares are likely to be tested by Andrew de Campo’s promising four-year-old Nowuseemegirl, who has set the pace and won at Bunbury at three of her past four starts.
Ken Casellas