Bravo Centurion heads Fernie trio

On paper, six sticks next to Bravo Centurion should make the Perth speed merchant a horse to keep an eye on in the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes at Ascot on Nov 30.

His pre-race odds of 9-1, however, suggests some hesitancy, presumably even among his strongest admirers, in backing him for a seventh hurrah in a row.

The 1,200m trip and the wide alley – 15 from 16 – seem to be the two main deterrents.

The National Defense four-year-old has given windburn to his fellow speedsters in mostly 1,000m speed dashes, including the Group 3 Prince Of Wales Stakes on Nov 2 and Listed Crawford Stakes two weeks earlier on Oct 19.

He did run once over 1,200m, and even won, but in a modest Class 1 race in Pinjarra.

It was the only time leading Perth jockey Chris Parnham – who will keep the reins in the Winterbottom – was not his winning partner. Pat Carbery did the steering duties on that day.

The question on many lips on the eve of Perth’s premier sprint race at Day 3 of The Pinnacles is whether Bravo Centurion can still sustain a sizzling gallop with another 200m to cover, and a wide alley to contend with.

Young Ascot trainer Luke Fernie for one is unfazed by all the fuss over these two queries.

The former electrician, who is also a fourth-generation trainer from Kalgoorlie, is not letting his brain short circuit from the information overload.

For sure, Ripcord’s third place to Overpass in last year’s Winterbottom Stakes – his best result in two shots since getting his licence in 2019 – is a confidence booster.

But more pointedly, he just seems to have a blind faith in his horse’s blistering speed and bulldog qualities.

“I think he’s going to give it every chance,” he said.

“He’s going to run fast. Hopefully, there’s a nice rhythm to help him get that job done a little bit easier as well, but I think he’s got the ability to stretch out that far.”

The awkward alley is no cause for concern, either.

“It doesn’t bother me. We’ve drawn inside Overpass, that was the most important thing to come from the barrier draw,” he said.

“I think that they are the two fastest horses. They’ll make their way across the field pretty comfortably, I’d imagine.

“It doesn’t look like anything inside them can go with them and, even if they tried to kick up inside them, they could bring themselves undone.”

Fernie, whose trainer-father Peter is named the “King of Kalgoorlie”, was pleased to witness the same speedball scorch up the Ascot course proper at his final hit-out on Nov 26.

“He just had to go there, blow the cobwebs out,” he said.

“He worked really good the week before (won a barrier trial at Lark Hill on Nov 18). We haven’t put a hell of a lot of work into him, he’s come on in leaps and bounds.

“He ran home in good time, his recovery was good. That’s him, he’s a fast horse, he’s always going to work good – he blew the clock up this morning.”

Having opened his Group account with Bravo Centurion in the Prince Of Wales Stakes, Fernie has now set his sights on a first success at the elite level.

The 28-year-old even has two more bullets should the stable flagbearer come up short in the weight-for-age race – Laced Up Heels and Man Crush.

Both have their jobs cut out, even if their trainer could not fault their preparations.

“There aren’t too many races for them, so you’ve got to have a throw at the stumps,” he said.

“Laced Up Heels is fine. It wouldn’t surprise me if she runs in the first three.

“Man Crush needs to elevate from his last run but he’s also going really well.”

Fernie has booked former Singapore Derby-winning jockey Joseph Azzopardi (Sun Marshal in 2019) on Laced Up Heels and last Saturday’s Group 1 Railway Stakes-winning jockey Clint Johnston-Porter (Port Lockroy) on Man Crush.

Manhattan Rain five-year-old and six-time winner Man Crush has drawn seven while Toronado five-year-old mare and four-time winner Laced Up Heels will jump from barrier 12.

The Winterbottom Stakes will be run at 4.52pm Singapore time.

manyan@sph.com.sg