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Mitch Miller made a successful return to action after recovering from the effects of concussion when he drove Soho Shakedown to an effortless victory in the $25,000 Bob Ridgers Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.

He was concussed when he was involved in a race accident three weeks earlier, and he was anxious to make a low-key return to competition by taking only one drive on Friday night’s ten-event program.

And he made every post a winner by dashing the $1.40 favourite Soho Shakedown straight to the front from barrier three and the Kim Prentice-trained gelding was not extended in setting the pace and winning by three lengths from $21 chance Ima Fivestar General, with the $7.50 second fancy Our Crunch Time a fighting third after racing without cover throughout the 2130m event.

“I’ve worked Soho Shakedown since day one and I knew he was well above average,” said Miller. “He is going big places.”

The big places Miller was indicating include the upcoming rich feature events for four-year-olds, including the $50,000 Four-Year-Old Championship (October 9), the $125,000 Four-Year-Old Classic (October 23) and the $200,000 Golden Nugget (November 6).

Soho Shakedown, who dashed over the final 400m sections in 27.8sec. and 28.5sec. and rated 1.55.8, has earned $90,222 from nine wins, two seconds and two fourths.

Another smart four-year-old to catch the eye on Friday night was the Chris Voak trained and driven Boy Blue, the $2.60 favourite who hardly got out of second gear in winning the 2130m Maureen McKercher Pace.

Boy Blue was trapped four wide early and was eighth after 300m before Voak urged him forward to take up the running 700m after the start. He sprinted over the final quarters in 28.8sec. and 27.8sec. and rated 1.56.4 in beating the $4.30 third fancy Mikis Pride by a length and a half.

Boy Blue, who has had 15 starts for seven wins, three placings and $64,221, is nowhere near his top according to Voak, who said: “I didn’t need to knock him around and he did it very easily. It was a soft win for him.

“I have been trying to develop him to improve his strength. He was a weak horse when we got him, and he wouldn’t work in the sand. And if I could’ve given him back, I probably would’ve. He still has a lot of developing to do, and where he gets to is up to him. His speed is his asset.”

Voak completed a double when he was successful with the Katie Howlett owned and trained five-year-old Brought To Light, the $3.50 second fancy who won the 2130m Tom Davies Pace by more than three lengths from $41 outsider Louie Lebeau.

Brought To Light raced in the breeze outside the $1.75 favourite Captainshavtime before getting to the front with a lap to travel when Captainshavtime suffered an atrial fibrillation and dropped back through the field.

Watch the replay here: racingwa.com.au/rwa/meetings/harness/2026-08-28/GLOUCESTER%20PARK/GP280826/race/4/GPM28082608

A change in tactics and a confident drive from Liam Elliott proved the winning formula as My Hammer Down returned from a 12-week break with an impressive victory at Gloucester Park.

Originally planning to take a sit, Elliott instead pressed forward when the pace slackened, and the move paid off as the talented four-year-old swept to victory in the Sue Langmead Pace. Now with six wins from just 14 starts, My Hammer Down looks set to target the rich four-year-old features later this season.

Read the full story on the pacer's eventful journey, from New Zealand to Sydney, Queensland and back to WA, and why connections believe his best racing is still ahead.

https://racingwa.com.au/news/2026/08/31/elliott-puts-the-hammer-down

New Zealand breeders Terry and Dawn McPherson didn’t waste much time in naming the third foal out of Pretty Pins, and it was a pretty simple and obvious choice to register the c**t as Sweet Pins.

But they had no idea that pins would play a vital role in the career of this son of boom American sire Sweet Lou whose future was uncertain after suffering two leg fractures and a badly damaged knee at his race debut when he scored a runaway victory at Pinjarra on July 1, 2024.

After Sweet Pins had clocked a dazzling 54sec. over the final 800m of a track workout in New Zealand as a three-year-old the McPhersons were inundated with phone calls which led them to selling the unraced youngster to champion WA trainer Gary Hall snr on behalf of several of his stable clients.

Expectations were high when Sweet Pins lined up for his first start, and he delivered the goods with an emphatic performance when he rated 1.56.5 and beat Ebee Aviator by seven lengths over 1684m.

He pulled up sore and it was discovered that he had fractured his nearside knee and both his hind legs. Surgery was performed on his knee and pins were inserted, with veterinary surgeons predicting it was unlikely that the pacer would be able to race again.

However, patient care by Hall enabled Sweet Pins to resume his career after 12 months --- and he reappeared in a 2130m event at Gloucester Park on July 11 last year when he outclassed his rivals and defeated Sheza Sassy Lassy by four lengths.

He has gone on to compete in grand style, with the pins still in his knee, and at Gloucester Park on Friday night the five-year-old impressed when he rated 1.53.9 in winning the $31,000 WATA Members Sprint over 1730m.

Sweet Pins, a $9.90 chance, began from the inside of the back line, and Stuart McDonald was delighted to enjoy a perfect sit behind the frontrunning $8 chance Lucca, with the $2.45 favourite Never Ending working in the breeze after failing in a bid to get past the polemarker Lucca and set the pace.

Never Ending dashed to the front about 550m from home, and it was then that McDonald was able to get Sweet Pins into the clear, and the horse took the lead in the home straight and went on to beat his stablemate and $31 chance Youre So Fine, who flew home out five wide after coming from ninth at the bell.

Sweet Pins has now earned $155,110 from ten wins and eight placings from 29 starts and he and Youre So Fine will be set to contest the $450,000 WA Pacing Cup on December 11.

The win gave Hall a record seventh success, and his third quinella result, in the Members Sprint. It was also McDonald’s second win in the feature event, following his victory with the Hall-trained eight-year-old Whozideawasthis, an $18 chance who sat behind the pacemaker and $1.07 favourite Chicago Bull and finished strongly to beat his stablemate by a half-length in 2019.

“Whether Sweet Pins reaches his full potential is hard to say,” said McDonald. “He has had his fair share of problems, but we always knew how good he was.”

Watch the replay here: racingwa.com.au/rwa/meetings/harness/2026-08-28/GLOUCESTER%20PARK/GP280826/race/5/GPM28082604