[PHOTO: Western Racepix]
Co-trainers Daniel and Ben Pearce continued their impressive start to the new season when preparing a winning treble at Northam on Thursday.
Queen Alina, Does He Know and Cosmopolitan Girl not only took the brothers’ tally to nine winners one month into the 2022/23 season, but also brought up the stable’s 250th win since the Pearce Racing partnership formed five years ago.
Mahuta four-year-old Queen Alina ($3.90) kicked the day off in the best way possible when charging home to take out The Races WA Maiden (1300m) second-up from a spell.
Ridden by Joseph Azzopardi, the mare came from the tail of an eight-horse field in a fast-finishing burst to get over the top of stabemate Anna’s Boy ($3.70) by a half-length in a stable quinella.
Starchienne ($7) finished a further half-length away in third place.
Queen Alina put the writing on the wall for her winning performance when finishing a nose second to Do It Right at Pinjarra a fortnight earlier and gives the impressive she’ll relish stepping out to a mile in the future.
A lightly-raced mare who has taken time to mature, she has now recorded a win, a second and a fourth placing from her three race starts to date.
Three races later Does He Know defied a late betting drift ($3.20 to $4.20) to lead all-the-way for a stylish win in The Pinnacles Racing Carnival Maiden (1100m).
Also ridden by Azzopardi, the three-year-old son of Demerit travelled boldly in running and was able to hold off Parlons ($5.50) by just under a length on the line, with fellow Pearce-trained galloper Charcoal Chaos ($19) a further two-and-three-quarter lengths away in third.
The Oakland Park-bred gelding flashed ability when winning barrier trials as a pre-Christmas two-year-old and looks like a talented type who could progress through the grades.
The following race saw stablemate Cosmopolitan Girl land the third leg of a winning treble for the Pearces’ with an authoritative victory in the Off The Track WA Maiden (1100m).
Backed from $6 into $4.40 before the jump, the Safeguard three-year-old relished a fly-weight of just 51.5kg on her back after apprentice Luke Campbell’s claim to lead from start to finish in a painless watch, bolting in by more than two lengths.
Race-favourite Planet Cash ($3.30) finished in second place, with fellow Pearce-trained filly Beautiful Baroque ($6) a head way in third.
Cosmopolitan Girl is an all-ladies owned filly who has now recorded a win and two minor placings from her nine starts to date.
The Pearce stable will be represented by Let’s Galahvant, Defending, Probity and Don’t Fuss at Saturday’s Belmont meeting, while Wise Words will travel to Kalgoorlie to race at Sunday’s Coolgardie Cup meeting.
CLICK HERE to watch the replay of Queen Alina’s Northam win.
CLICK HERE to watch the replay of Does He Know’s Northam win.
CLICK HERE to watch the replay of Cosmopolitan Girl’s Northam win.