Western Australian-owned galloper Pearl King stormed to victory at Pakenham on Friday evening, scoring over 1600m in a performance that marks him as a promising future stayer.
Impressive Win at Pakenham
The Peters Investments-owned four-year-old, previously seen in WA in September when he claimed a maiden victory at Bunbury, was switched to Victoria shortly after. The Zoustar gelding had been close to a win in recent starts, finishing strongly over 1400m at Pakenham and 1600m at Bendigo before Friday's outing.
From an outside barrier, jockey Luke Nolen settled Pearl King near the tail of the field. Rousted up approaching the home corner, the $6 chance unleashed a powerful finish, surging up the home straight to win by three-quarters of a length from There Were Roses ($4.60).
Trainer's Comments
Andrea Leek, who also trains Cosmic Crusader for the same connections, noted that the eight-start newcomer still shows signs of inexperience but is developing into a promising stayer. “He’s a lovely horse and learning his craft still,” Leek said. “I thought he’d run well; I thought maybe he was looking for a bit more distance. I was a little bit concerned when I saw Patty Payne (trainer of favourite Brilliantezza) here; he doesn’t very often come.”
Leek praised Nolen's ride: “Cool hand Luke - that’s what they call him - he was very cool on him, and it was a very strong finish. I almost thought of putting a one-eye blinker on him today, but he could go the other direction, so we just made Luke aware of it, and he did a great job on him.”
Future Plans
Pearl King's dam, Mikimoto, won the 2017 Burgess Queen Stakes (1400m) among her four victories from just seven starts. Leek is considering a 2100m benchmark 70 race at Sandown on the 31st as a potential next step. “There’s a 2100m benchmark 70 on the 31st at Sandown – that could be a nice stepping stone - I’ll chat to Bob (Peters), though, and I’ll work out where he wants to take him,” she said.
The track was officially rated a Soft6, indicating the bay can handle affected going. “We just had to offset a slightly awkward draw, but he did a good job,” Nolen said. “The track has copped a hammering through the season but it’s still holding up OK.”
