BENICIO two-year-old Benny’s Halo lost no admirers from a Karrakatta Plate point of view despite his narrow defeat in this afternoon’s Listed WATC Perth Stakes (1100m).
Sent out as $3.10 favourite on the strength of two impressive wins, the hitherto unbeaten gelding camped just off the speed before making a challenge in the straight failing by the barest of margins to overhaul the winner, Rebel Call.
“He tried very hard to wear the other horse down and I think had he had another few strides he would have got there,” Vinery’s Adam White said.
“That being the case, you would think that the 1200m of the Karrakatta Plate is ideal for him. He will get a good speed on and be able to rattle off that big finish that we have seen from him in all three starts.”
“The Karrakatta will be his next run and it will suit him better over more ground. The 1400 will also suit him better,” Benny’s Halo’s trainer Neville Smith said in an interview with the West Australian.
The 1400m WATC Sires’ Produce Stakes, worth $200,000, is run at Ascot a fortnight after the $500,000 Karrakatta Plate.
