3 minute read

Ben Pearce walked away from Monday’s Lark Hill trials contented, particularly following heat two.

What piqued his attention were the efforts of stable mates Dig Deep and Vital Silver, more so the latter.

Dig Deep ran home well under his own steam for second behind This'll Testya.

There is a fair amount of trust in Dig Deep and he looks set for another fruitful campaign.

On the other hand, there was an element of doubt over Vital Silver going into the trial.

The classy sprinter looked shot after his last campaign and retirement was being contemplated.

He appeared only a shadow of the horse that won a Roma Cup and ran second in two Group 1 races in Perth and Melbourne.

By January he had enough after running last in the Miss Andretti Stakes (1100m) at Ascot.

But following yesterday's hit out there were positive signs for Ben Pearce and his brother, co-trainer Dan to work on.

After a long break and a patient build-up, Vital Silver showed he could have rediscovered his appetite for racing again.

He got away smartly, rolled to the top and only faded over the final stages of the 950m trial before holding on for third.

Pearce was happy with the effort and believed it was encouraging enough to warrant another campaign.

"I thought he was good after being out for so long," Pearce told The Races WA.

"He was a bit fresh but wanted to run and showed he had an appetite for racing again.

"He only faded late which is understandable.

"He might trial again on Monday and then go into the Black Heart Bart Stakes.

"I want to see how much improvement there is from one trial to the next.

"There isn't a lot around for him this time of the year.

"If he missed that he goes back to the paddock for a couple of weeks and comes back for the Winterbottom."

Vital Silver ran second to Hey Doc in the 2019 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m).

He has eight wins from 24 starts and nearly $800,000 in prize money.

Meanwhile Pearce said Dig Deep would be aimed at a Kalgoorlie campaign.

"It was a super trial," Pearce said.

"He made up good ground.

"He'll have another one (trial) and go to the Hannans first-up."

The Black Heart Bart Stakes (1200m) is on September 25 at Belmont.

September 30 is the staging of the Hannans Handicap (1400m), Kalgoorlie's premier sprint race.