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More than $10 million is ready to be won this racing season as the Westspeed program ramps up rewards for locally bred horses
The Westspeed concept was introduced by Racing and Wagering Western Australia in 1999 to encourage support from owners and trainers for the local breeding sector and has been steadily boosted in recent years.
The Westspeed Platinum race day on 17 December is an expansion of last year's inaugural event to include six races worth $125,000 each, catering to different ages and distances – and exclusive to Westspeed Platinum-eligible horses.
There will be a two-year-old and a and three-year-old race, two 1200m races (one each for males and females), a 1600m race and a 2100m race. This builds on last year's program , where the features were won by Son Son and Queen of Soul.
Although Blackfriars was recently crowned champion WA sire for a staggering 12th year in a row, his passing in 2017 indicates his reign will come to an end soon. Sires such as Playing God and Universal Ruler are starting to put their stamp on the local breeding sector and proving horses produced here can be competitive anywhere in Australia.
A great cohort of young WA horses is coming through, with some of the best such as Alaskan God, Trix of the Trade, Bustler and Baby Paris by Perth-based sires.
With the introduction of The Pinnacles race series and Westspeed going from strength to strength, now is a great time to be involved in WA racing.
Here are some of the biggest winners of the Westspeed incentive scheme so far:
Come Play With Me – As a homebred for the Durrant family, Come Play With Me holds the current record for Westspeed earnings, accruing $295,500 in bonuses. He also campaigned in the Eastern States, where he took out the G1 Metropolitan Handicap under Brenton Avdulla. On retiring in 2021, the son of Blackfriars had earned more than $1.3 million in total prize money.
Red Can Man – Purchased as a yearling for $50,000, Red Can Man has been a stalwart of Steve Wolfe's stable in recent years. The son of Gingerbread Man has won eight races and placed a further 12 times from 36 starts, collecting $1.14 million in prize money, of which $276,990 has come from Westspeed earnings.
Market Ruler – Owned and bred by David Reed, Market Ruler won eight of her 21 starts, earning $643,435 in prize money, including $272,850 from the Westspeed scheme. Before her career began, Reed and trainer Simon Miller agreed to auction a 30 per cent share in the daughter of Universal Ruler, with the proceeds donated to charity and her new owners not paying any training fees for their share.
Revitup – Dion Luciani's filly is well on her way to setting a new benchmark for Westspeed earnings. Still early in her three-year-old season, she has accumulated $267,000 in bonuses from her six wins and will be looking to build on that number come Saturday when she contests the Platinum Sires Stakes with William Pike aboard. By Demerit out of Regal Class, she is raced by Loloma Farms, who would be thrilled with the filly's efforts so far.
The Spruiker – Bred and trained by Steve Wolfe, The Spruiker is a son of I'm All the Talk who has won eight of his 22 starts to date, accumulating $629,580 in prize money, $245,100 of it through Westspeed bonuses. Still only a five-year-old, The Spruiker is stakes placed and has trialled recently in preparation for another campaign, where connections will be hoping he can add to his record.
