Rose Ali ready to rumble in Free For All company

By Isaac Murphy

Premiership winning Rockhampton trainer Darren Taylor went on record earlier this year saying the kennel would be targeting Thursday night wins at Albion Park.

Star pupil Rose Ali has risen to the challenge with a pair of 500-metre wins, complemented by a gritty performance first-up over the 700 metres last week.

This week, the newly anointed stayer is set to put her best foot forward in Free For All company over the distance.

Rose Ali tracked five wide the trip from box eight last week and despite covering extra ground was too good on debut in gritty fashion, fulfilling a long-time dream for Taylor.

“We actually pulled the trigger two weeks earlier bringing her down for her 700-metre debut, the original plan was to target the Fifth Grade next week, but we were taking Are Jay Lochie for a Masters run and thought why not bring her along and give her a go,” Taylor said.

“I thought she would run fairly well and we’ve been building her fitness for the trip, I was just a little concerned coming down a fortnight early she might just fade in that last 50 metres and it was a really gutsy effort to stave off Tommy’s (Tzouvelis) bitch Aristocratic Gal on the rail.

“I think she’ll be much better for it this week, I thought the poor little girl would be flat for a few days after but she was great on the trip home and was up bouncing around the next afternoon, hence we decided to go forward with the Free For All this week and see how she handles it.”

Rose Ali made a habit of recording stunning wins over the 500 metres at Rockhampton, with the way she raced showed she was always crying out for the distance and after a couple of setbacks is now fulfilling her potential.

“We always knew she could run 700 and we would have liked to have been there about three months ago but things didn’t go to plan with injury, it seems like a long time since then but it was very rewarding to see her go out there and do it,” Taylor said.

“We’re not getting too carried away, tonight is another step up in class; Waikarie Bell is flying and we know what Rasheda can do on her night, she hasn’t run the time they can run yet.

“We’ve studied the speed map a bit and if she comes out like she did last week there’s no reason she can’t go to the lead and from box one.

“There’s the chance she’ll only race two to three off the fence instead of about five off last week and get down around that 42-second mark which makes us competitive.”

Taylor partners with Rockhampton caller Liam Mulry to race the bitch and the pair are always talking about what’s next.

“I spoke to the owner Liam Mulry – who is our race caller up here – and we had a look at Waikarie Bell who ran identical time to us first time up over the 700 and has improved down from 42.4 to 41.7 in the space of two runs,” he said.

“There’s no guarantees she makes those strides as quickly but she certainly won’t go backwards and we’re committed to keeping her as a full-time stayer with the grand plan to have her ready for the Group races around December and January where she’s got a full preparation in her.

“All going to plan that’ll be her swansong and she’ll be off to the breeding barn; she comes from great stock out of My Bro Fabio and Born Ali and we’ve already had preliminary discussions with David Brasch about potential sires, so there’s plenty of excitement there too.”

Taylor is making the most of his trips down the highway if he sees a suitable race, and the fast finishing Are Jay Lochie is always a chance in Masters grade where he’s just missed out on a couple of occasions.

“Are Jay Lochie is going as good as he ever has, he’s had a couple of chances over the last few months to nail that elusive Albion Park victory, but it’s just eluded us,” he said.

“He’ll get back from box one tomorrow night and rely on luck but if he gets it he’ll be finishing at a million miles an hour and it would mean so much to us if he could get that Thursday night win under the belt - he’s been such a warrior for us.”

While Are Jay Lochie is in his twilight, Taylor thinks he might have picked up a handy one in Pitch Black Gaga who will go around in tomorrow night’s Novice.

“We just recently picked up a bitch who started out down in the Northern Rivers called Pitch Black Gaga; we got her settled in up home and she came out and won her maiden first try and I’ve got her in the Novice there at Albion tomorrow night,” Taylor said.

“She’s a well-bred bitch out of Black Audit and while I don’t think she’ll reach the heights of her mother or Rose Ali, there’s plenty to work with there.

“She had her first start at Albion Park back in June, so she’s seen the track but not for quite some time, she’s probably up against it from box seven and up over the 500, but you’ve got to start somewhere.”