The Sean and Jake Casey training partnership will aim to cap off a stellar run of form when their mare Angel Undercover lines up as the favourite in Thursday's $100,000 Boxing Day Dash (1300m) at Pinjarra.
Favourite Ready to Strike
The five-year-old daughter of Harry Angel has been in terrific touch, showcasing a powerful finishing burst in her recent runs. After a dominant victory three starts back, a tactical error saw her finish poorly when ridden too close to the speed. However, she bounced straight back last start, charging home to be narrowly beaten by Without Reg in a nose second-place finish.
All those runs were over 1400m, and the slight drop back to 1300m in a small field is seen as ideal. She will be ridden for the first time by top jockey Chris Parnham, who takes over from Zephen Johnston-Porter. Angel Undercover has been installed as the $2.05 TABtouch favourite for the feature sprint.
Main Rivals Line Up
The primary threat appears to be the Colin Webster-trained Wubin Gold ($3.40). The six-time winner had a luckless first-up run on November 29, squeezed at the start and making significant late ground to finish within a length and a half of the winner. With an impeccable second-up record prior to that run, she is poised for a sharp improvement. Regular rider Troy Turner retains the mount, and she carries a slight weight advantage of 54kg compared to Angel Undercover's 55kg.
Should the two mares falter, a quartet of capable geldings are waiting to pounce. Sky Duke ($5.50) is a proven winner at the track and gets a perfect draw in barrier two with a drop in weight. His last start was a forgivable failure after being trapped wide, and he is expected to get a much softer run this time.
Triple Jay ($7), drawn the inside barrier, will be ridden by Steve Parnham. He showed promise in a recent Lark Hill trial and is another with strong winning form in the past. The Pearce brothers also saddle up the shortest-priced favourite on the card, A Summer Fling, in an earlier race.
Milestone Prize Money in Sight
An intriguing subplot to the race is the battle for career earnings. Angel Undercover, Sky Duke, Triple Jay, and another runner, Boots Like Bruce, have all earned just shy of $400,000. In fact, only $12,000 separates their career totals.
A runner-up finish by any of them would push their earnings past the $400,000 milestone, meaning multiple horses could achieve a significant financial landmark on Thursday afternoon. Boots Like Bruce, an eight-year-old veteran and past winner of the H G Bolton Sprint and Belmont Newmarket, is a $9 chance to cause an upset.
The field is rounded out by Jelly Can Run ($21), who appears outclassed but may appreciate the step up to 1300m.
The Boxing Day Dash shapes as a compelling contest, pitting the in-form favourite against a proven second-up performer and several seasoned geldings all hitting a key career milestone.
