Sweet Lou gelding scores an upset win in WA Derby

Most punters were of the opinion that Gary Hall would win the $200,000 Group 1 WA Derby.

However, it was Gary Hall Snr not Gary Hall Jnr who won the family bragging rights when his $9 chance Skylou (Sweet Lou), with Maddison Brown in the sulky, outsprinted the $1.32 harness racing favorite Never Ending who was driven by Hall Jnr.

Punters couldn’t have been happier when Never Ending settled in the one out one back position however Hall Jnr opted to leave the trail and assume the front running inside the first 400 metres of the race.

With Skylou perched on his back, Never Ending raced keenly in the lead before forging clear of his rivals inside the last 400 metres.

Skylou though refused to drop off and when Brown pulled out to stake a claim in the home straight the three-year-old sprinted quickly to reel in Never Ending and score running away by three and a half metres in a slick mile rate of 1:56.3 for the 2536 metre Derby trip.

SKYLOU REPLAY

Hall Snr admitted he thought it would be a tough task for any of his three runners to upset Never Ending.

“Before the draw I thought there were four main chances- Never Ending, Mister Smartee, Lusaka and Im The Black Flash but with the other three drawing wide I thought Never Ending was past the post.” Hall Snr said.

Hall Snr acknowledged the effort of the 27-year-old Brown who notched up her fourth Group 1 win.

“Skylou got here a bit late and has had a rushed preparation but Maddison (Brown) is very good at getting horses away well and she made the most of her good draw,” he said.

“And Skylou is only my third best three-year-old, but he’s a nice horse and made the most of the right and the fact that Never Ending over raced tonight.”

Both the first and second horses are by the Woodlands Stud stallion Sweet Lou.

For complete race results, click here.

by John Dunne, for Harnesslink