Red Hot Lady in fine form

Byford trainer Katja Warwick has Red Hot Lady racing with great enthusiasm, and reinsman Shannon Suvaljko is bullish about the filly’s winning prospects in the opening event, the Perth Plasterboard Centre Pace, at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

Red Hot Lady will be having her third start in the space of eight days and is awkwardly drawn at barrier No. 5.

“She’s improving with every run and she won in second gear at Pinjarra on Monday,” said Suvaljko. “She beat older horses and she always backs up really well. I think she will run a big race. Kat’s horses always back up very well and hold their form.”

At Pinjarra, Red Hot Lady led from barrier three and after slow opening quarters of the final mile in 32.5sec. and 31.3sec., she sprinted over the final 400m sections in 29.8sec. and 27.1sec. to beat the favourite Cry Havoc by a length.

Last Friday night Red Hot Lady set the pace from the No. 1 barrier and after a final 800m in 57sec. she finished third behind talented gelding Alta Engen. Two starts before that, she also impressed with her second behind another smart three-year-old gelding Alta Blues.

“Probably the only one who could hold her at the start is Miss Eerie from barrier one,” said Suvaljko. “But Miss Eerie has been racing very well with a sit. Red Hot Lady is racing really well and doesn’t have to lead to win. She can sit up.”

Warwick also has two other promising fillies in Friday night’s race Askmeilltellya (to be driven by Gary Hall Jnr from out wide at barrier seven) and Rockin The Trend, the only runner on the back line, who will be handled by Michael Grantham.

Other smart fillies in the race include Blockjorg and Some Copper Beach, each of whom has won seven races. However, they face stern tests from barriers nine and eight, respectively.

The Peter Anderson-trained Star In Art has won four times and is handily drawn at barrier two. She will be handled by Dylan Egerton-Green, who was in the sulky when the filly led the chase behind the runaway pacemaker Rockin The Trend and fought on gamely to finish second to Blockjorg.

 

Ken Casellas