Barber Duo Score A Straight Track Double - The Bridge Week in Review
Barber Duo Score A Straight Track Double
Friday Meeting
It was a bright and warm afternoon for our Friday card and Rob Harnas had a great day in picking up a training double. Son Of Maple was the first as he stepped out over the 395m trip. From box five he was a tad sluggish into stride but quickly picked up speed and burnt through to the lead before the turn. With a couple of lengths break at the top of the straight he was looking good, but with the finishing line approaching he did start to get very weary and a late challenge from the fast finishing Aston Reims emerged. Despite the scare, Son Of Maple did just enough and hung on to win in 22.46. The consistent Pippa’s Hero rounded off the card and the double for Rob, with a strong box eight from the sprint trip. It was a tight run into the turn with Pippa’s Hero caught deep and covering ground, but he held his spot well and avoided any trouble. He had a bit of work to do at the top of the straight and a couple of lengths to make up, but with a big surge to the line he got the nose in front and won narrowly in 22.63 to cap off an impressive win.
The Ed Kowaleski trained Hartley Bale put in a strong performance to win his third race under the care of Ed, which continued a consistent patch of form from the black dog. From box eight in a pretty even field over the 395m distance, he started quickly but found himself stuck wide with a very even and competitive run into the first turn. Having to sit five wide around the bend, he needed to do things smartly and not make any mistakes, which he did successfully. Straightening for home, a gap emerged in front and took it quickly, powering to the lead before finding a clear margin and holding that through the line, going on to win nicely in 22.62.
Tuesday (Straight track)
It was a wonderful afternoon at The Bridge for our weekly straight meeting and their were a few training teams to collect winning doubles for the meeting, which included Jack Trengove, Craig Jaensch, Doug & Paul Hamerstein and Stewart & Cherylee Barber.
Stewart and Cherylee Barber aren’t frequent visitors to the straight track but certainly enjoyed a worthwhile trip up on Tuesday, thanks to their ‘Zinfandel’ pair. Zinfandel Pardy was the first and she stepped out over the 350m trip for her first Murray Bridge venture. From box four, she stepped nicely and went looking for the early lead, but was met with some opposition and soon found herself in a bumping duel. Despite this, she kept on pushing hard and was able to get a narrow lead midrace. Given her strength at Angle Park over longer distances, she was always going to be hard to run down and that proved the case, as she waltzed home for an impressive 19.50 win. Her sister Zinfandel Dash later lined up from box one over the 300m distance and equalled her sister's feat. After the boxes opened, Zinfandel Dash was given plenty of room to work with early and she quickly made the most of that, burning up to the lead and putting a couple of lengths on the field. She was never in danger from that point and went on to win nicely by three lengths in a handy 16.86. A worthwhile afternoon for Stewart and Cherylee!
Jack Trengove had two impressive winners with the first coming in the form of Aussie Wish, who made it a perfect two from two up the straight when he won his grade 6 over the 350m trip. From box four, he came out of the boxes poorly and quickly found himself a few lengths off the lead and with plenty of work to do. Luckily for him he was given plenty of space to work through his gears and halfway up he had caught the others and landed back in a close enough spot. With a touch of luck out in front, he was able to quickly zip to the lead with 100m to go and really went right through to the end quite strongly, winning well in 19.64. No doubt that time would have been quicker if he got the start right! A few races later it was Trivia who put herself back onto the winners list when taking out a grade 6 over the 300m distance. It was a fast start from the black bitch but she showed some newness to the track and shifted out to the outside fence early. In what broke out as a clear two dog race halfway up, Trivia was able to stay determined and hold a narrow lead for the last part of the race, before hanging on for a solid 16.97 win and capping off a nice afternoon for Jack.