Robbie Easton is Hall's best

Many of champion trainer Gary Hall Senior’s top-line pacers are on the easy list before being prepared for rich summer carnival feature events, and his stable will be contesting only four of the ten events at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

“Robbie Easton is my best chance,” he predicted. “He has enough gate speed to lead from barrier one and should prove hard to beat.”

Four-year-old Robbie Easton, to be driven by Gary Hall Jnr, is the youngest runner in the Westside Auto Wholesale Pace over 2130m and he should carry too many guns for his eight rivals.

He impressed last Friday night when he was restrained at the start from barrier six and raced four back on the pegs before charging home, out four wide, to finish an eye-catching fifth behind Patronus Star when the final 400m was covered in a slick 27.6sec.

One of Robbie Easton’s most serious rivals is likely to be Mister Bushido, who will be driven by Stuart McDonald from barrier No. 7. Mister Bushido finished a desperately close fourth behind dead-heaters Our Perkins and Our Rhythm N Blues in a four-way photo finish over 2536m last Friday night. He raced wide early before gaining the one-out, one-back sit and he charged home with a four-wide burst.

The Hall camp will also have two runners, Ideal Liner (McDonald) and My Carbon Copy (Maddison Brown) in the Glenroy Chaff Pace, in which Hall Jnr will handle the Michael George-trained While They Pray.

“Ideal Liner and My Carbon Copy look place chances,” said Hall Snr, with Hall Jnr saying he would be attempting to get to an early lead with While They Pray from the No. 1 barrier in a race in which Bletchley Park (barrier nine) and Convert Denario (barrier two) will have many admirers.

The Hall stable will also contest the Cowden The Insurance Brokers Pace with Tuas Delight and the Allwood Stud Farm Pace with Extreme Prince.

Tuas Delight is capable of a forward showing against modest opposition, while Hall Snr said he gave Extreme Prince an each-way chance in an event in which there was little exposed form.

Ross Olivieri will be the busiest trainer on Friday night with ten runners. He predicted that his best winning prospects would be Boom Time in race two, Jimmy Mack in race seven and Kiwi Bloke in race eight.

“Boom Time has drawn the outside of the back line and he was an easy winner last week,” said Olivieri. “I don’t mind barrier 12; there are a lot of worse barriers. Jimmy Mack was down in grade last week when he was too good for the opposition, and Kiwi Bloke is a standing-start specialist, who will have to overcome the disadvantage of drawing wide on the front line.”   

 

Ken Casellas