Just Rockon Bye is a real bargain

In the current climate of exorbitantly high prices for New Zealand-bred pacers, a real bargain has emerged in the form of seven-year-old mare Just Rockon Bye who makes strong appeal as one of the best bets on the ten-event program at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

Just Rockon Bye, a recent addition to the Serpentine stables of champion trainer Gary Hall Snr, who will be handled by ace reinsman Gary Hall Jnr from barrier No. 2 in the $22,000 TABtouch Pace, was purchased by prominent South Australian breeders and owners Terry Cormack and his sons Adam and Ben for a mere $15,000 three years ago.

Just Rockon Bye had won twice for Peter Blanchard from eight starts in New Zealand for earnings of $13,822 when the erudite Cormack trio bought the Christian Cullen mare.

The Cormacks raced Just Rockon Bye in South Australia (16 starts for 14 wins and one placings), New South Wales (two unplaced efforts) and Victoria (18 starts for three wins and eight placings) for stakes of $91,194 before they decided to send her to the Hall training establishment earlier this year and she has proved to be one of the State’s best mares, earning $53,139 from three wins and four placings from 12 starts in Western Australia.

All that amounts to stakes of $144,333 for the Cormacks who have had plenty of success over the past dozen years with Hall-trained performers, including Alzona, whose 11 WA wins included the Brennan Memorial and Stratton Cup in 2011 as well as a splendid second to Im Themightyquinn in the 2009 Fremantle Cup.

Just Rockon Bye has inherited much of the ability of her dam OK Rock, who amassed $168,528 from nine wins, eight seconds and three thirds from just 28 starts, with her most notable success being in a $60,000 group two classic for three-year-old fillies at Auckland’s Alexandra Park in January 1999.

“She’s flying and should lead and prove very hard to beat,” declared Hall Jnr, whose father agreed, saying: “She will lead and is an excellent frontrunner. The ear plugs weren’t released when she finished third in the Mount Eden Sprint last Friday night.”

Maddison Brown drove Just Rockon Bye, a 100/1 outsider in last week’s 1730m feature event in which she began speedily from barrier five and then enjoyed an ideal passage, three back on the pegs, before she was blocked for a clear run in the final lap and finally seeing daylight on the inside to flash home brilliantly to finish an extremely close third behind Argyle Red and Speed Man.

The clash between Just Rockon Bye and other star mares Eden Franco and Our Alfie Romeo will be of the highlights of the night. Eden Franco, trained and driven by Colin Brown, will start from the No. 4 barrier, with the Greg and Skye Bond-trained Our Alfie Romeo facing a testing time from the outside (No. 9) in an excellent field of ten mares.

“Eden Franco is probably a better horse than Just Rockon Bye, but from barrier four, racing first-up and the probability of sitting outside Just Rockon Bye, should tilt things in our favour,” said Hall Snr.

Eden Franco, a seven-year-old who possess sparkling gate speed, is unlikely to have enough pace to wrest the early lead from Just Rockon Bye. She is having her first start for five months and has been unplaced at her past six starts. But she boasts a wonderful record of 39 starts for 14 wins, 11 seconds and four thirds and can never be underestimated.

“She is in foal to Bettors Delight and is being aimed at the Norms Daughter Classic next month and the Mares Classic in December,” Brown said. “She has been working in good style with Patrickthepiranha and Its Rock And Roll.”

With regular reinsman Ryan Warwick under suspension, Dylan Egerton-Green will handle the talented five-year-old Our Alfie Romeo, who has won 15 times from only 29 starts. She resumed after a spell in fine style with an effortless all-the-way victory over 2130m last Friday week.

Oakford trainer Ross Olivieri will be represented by smart mares Crystal Sparkles (Chris Voak) and Just Makeminediamonds (Chris Lewis). “They have each-way prospects, but Just Makeminediamonds will find it a bit tough from barrier seven,” he predicted.

 

Ken Casellas