[PHOTO: Western Racepix]
Pearce Racing brought up their second winning double in the space of five days at Pinjarra on Sunday when Striking Fella and Richanco saluted in their respective races.
Both ridden by Chris Parnham, Striking Fella ($6.50) resumed from almost six months away from racing when leading throughout to land a soft win in the Seashells Mandurah Fashions on the Field Maiden (1413m).
The Awesome Rock three-year-old raced up to 2200m at his last preparation but displayed sharpness to cross to the lead from barrier six and boot clear on straightening to defeat Stryker’s Gal ($4.80) by one-and-a-half lengths.
Runanway Winston ($12) finished a further half-length away in third place.
Striking Fella is an athletic yet raw type who has required a patient approach due to his immaturity, however, he’s always shown promise and is expected to continue to improve as he steps up in distance.
Later in the day, fellow three-year-old Richanco was heavily supported from $2.80 into $1.60 before taking out the Grahaem & Megan Donovan Handicap (1200m) to keep his undefeated record in tact.
The Rich Enuff gelding was having his second race start after a dominant race debut 11 days earlier where he led and romped in by three lengths.
He displayed tactical versatility in Sunday’s win when settled one-out and one-back behind a genuine pace before peeling into the clear and having a tendency to lay in over the final 200m but responding to Parnham’s vigour to get the job done again.
Runner-up Elbow Lounge ($19) was beaten a long neck, with Weeraechoux ($4.20) a further half length away in third.
The Pearce stable prepared Defending and Mystery Bullet to victory at Geraldton on Wednesday, while stablemate Blue Rocket finished third in Saturday’s $500,000 Group 2 Karrakatta Plate (1200m) at Ascot.