Latest news with #ShootingToWin
West Australian
17-05-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
Lights out! Camera Action takes Belmont's $100,000 Provincial Championship Series Final
Camera Action proved that a quick turnaround is no obstacle, coming off a defeat six days earlier to win the $100,000 Racing WA Provincial Championship Series Final (1400m) at Belmont. After being beaten as a $1.90 favourite at Northam in her heat of the series on Sunday, punters sent Camera Action out a $7.50 TABtouch elect in Saturday's feature. Other than the lethargic Speed Bubble ($34), who missed the start hopelessly, Camera Action was the last to leave the stalls and was bustled up by Brayden Gaerth to sit in the three-wide train but still near the back. With 600m to go and nine lengths from leader Psycho Sista ($6.50), Gaerth hooked the mare to the outside to start a searching run. Cornering nine wide as the field fanned, the four-year-old unleashed a paralysing run down the outskirts of the track and raced to the front with 150m left. Snazzler ($34), who turned alongside Camera Action but couldn't match her dash, ran to second place but could get no closer than a length to the dominant daughter of Shooting To Win. Despite the short-priced defeat last weekend, co-trainer Sean Casey was not dismayed after being turned over by Manhattan Strip. 'It was a great effort from the horse. She ran last Sunday at Northam and ran a super race,' he said. 'The other day when Brad (Parnham) rode her, she had the field covered. She got to the front and was home, but Willie (Pike) had one of those purple patch days where he got out of the ground the last 100m and got the drop on us. 'Brad and I had in mind that she doesn't need to hit the front too early, but she had the race shot to pieces and then Willie just came from nowhere. By no fault of anybody, we got beaten.' The win brought up a metropolitan double for Gaerth on consecutive weekends after the earlier success of Sky Duke ($7.50). 'Very impressed with Brayden's ride here today. We both assessed how we thought the race would be run and it just went to the letter,' Casey said. 'He was able to ride it out hard and change the whip into the left. It was a really good watch. 'She's a nice big, strong mare and beautifully put together. She's got the scope and stride (to get 1600m). Gaerth, still a 2kg claiming apprentice, was riding the mare for the first time and registered his first triple-figure purse race win. 'Looking at the race initially, it was going to be a bit hairy,' Gaerth said. 'But, like I said to Sean, it's no good pulling back or working all the way forward, I think we've just got to ride for luck and try to be midfield. 'All credit to the horse. I had to pop early and go. It was a massive, massive effort from her. 'She wanted to hang in a little bit and once I pulled (the whip) through and gave her a couple, she straightened up and ran through the line really nicely. 'Off the weights, claiming 2kg, off 55kg, she meets them a lot better. She's better than most of them, so the draw was obviously the big query. But with that weight, we were able to use her and off the quick spin, she was too good.' The mature-aged apprentice was denied a treble in the final race as Speed Dream ($7) beat Correct Choice ($5.50) by a half head. 'It's been really good the last couple of months,' Gaerth said. 'The support I've had from trainers… they've really supported me, and it comes down to the cattle you're getting on, and I'm getting on some really, really fast ones.'
New Paper
22-04-2025
- Sport
- New Paper
Starboy set to shine brightly
It was at the just-concluded Selangor meeting on April 20 that trainer Johnny Lim Boon Thong closed the programme on a winning note, saddling Loving Babe to take out the Class 5A sprint over the 1,150m. The two-time Malaysian champion trainer (2008 and 2009) has entered a team of just three for the action coming up on April 27, but the celebrations could continue if Starboy prevails in the Class 5A event over the 1,300m. Lim, who also finished with two seconds in Golden Seventy Two and Selangor Star at the last meeting, might just be able to score again. On a training track rated "yielding" on April 22, Starboy was one of the bright sparks when he reeled off his 600m training gallop in 38.3sec. A two-time winner - both times when under the care of Jason Ong at Kranji - Starboy has faced the starter 23 times and looks ready to thank his new master with an overdue win. To date, his five trials in Kuala Lumpur have been good. The Shooting To Win four-year-old won once and has been placed second on three occasions. And on the strength of this latest rousing morning gallop, his first win in Malaysia could come sooner than later. Watch out for Oriental Halflamma. A five-year-old by former Singapore speedster Super One, he was not out to smash any speed records but did toss in a good piece of work when running the 600m in a breezy 40sec. Oriental Halflamma was one of a shipment of quality thoroughbreds sent over from Macau by trainer Ricky Choi Chun Wai. The Hong Kong-born Choi has been patient with the five-time winner from Macau, who has yet to win in Malaysia in six starts. But the good-looking chestnut has only been off the board on one occasion. That was on Jan 31, when he finished ninth in that Class 4A race (1,200m) won by Atlante Legend. Partnered by Jackson Low, Oriental Halflamma was slow out of the gates and, to compound matters, he had to race wide for most of the trip. His last run was in that Class 4B contest (1,020m) where he ran fourth behind Billy Elliot on Feb 23. Come April 27, Choi - who has also entered Rhythm Of Zen in the races - could be quietly confident of Oriental Halflamma's chances. Trainer Simon Dunderdale was not out of the picture during the morning romps on April 22. Several runners from his team of eight at the upcoming races were put through their paces on the training track. Te Akau Ben was the most impressive among them. A familiar name to racegoers at Kranji where he won six races under the care of Donna Logan, Te Akau Ben has not lost his spark in Malaysia. To recap, he did put together a grandstand win when beating Pacific Victory by seven lengths in a Metro A race (1,600m) on March 1. That day, the seven-year-old son of Tavistock was like a bullet train gone berserk. He was unstoppable. Te Akau Ben's last two races were big-time events. He was sixth to Noah Khan in the Group 1 Tunku Gold Cup (1,200m) on March 16, before finishing seventh to Antipodean in a Supreme A race (1,400m) at his last start on April 5. Dunderdale has picked a winnable Class 2 race (1,400m) for his charge on April 27. With that strong and stirring workout under his girth, he will be hoping Te Akau Ben leads the field home. brian@
