Bedrock Fred claims his first feature
Race 1 on a very nice card at the Bridge and Spring Lilac started a well-supported favourite off the red for Vadim Roz. It was a terrific line out from the boxes before Aston Model finally found the front. Coming into the bend the other dogs started to catch the leader Aston Model and it was See You Smile who really got mobile and took over down the straight, before going on to land a very nice victory. Race 2 was a slightly tame grade 6 with no standouts in the market. Again it was another nice line away before Ackles took the lead. As they approached the top, Aston Gypsy whipped around and dropped the field easily, clocking a very impressive win first-up off a fall. A nice training effort from Matty Payne. A terrific little 530m race for the 3rd of the card with another even market. The race changed complexion big time when the inside pair didn’t lead and the outside brigade got over. The three favourites for the race were very shortly running last and Tangelo Fire was well out in front. She never looked like getting run down with a slight mix up behind her. 30.00 capped off a nice return to form for the Ben Rawlings trained bitch. Race 4 was an absolute belter for our grade 4/5 final. Bulleteer started favourite in the event, but it was the kennel mate Coco Nova who led the race. She was able to pinch a nice lead down the back as the inform Spofforth got right behind her. It was a gripping finish in the end but Coco Nova held on, making it a worthwhile trip down for Darren Fisher.
Race 5 and a pretty strong grade 5. Undercut, which gained a start off the red box, was a very well supported favourite. With a bit of room from the wide runners outside of him, he was able to muster through and hit the front. From there he was never going to get run down having made a Murray Bridge cup a couple of months ago. He won in 25.49 and capped off a nice little plunge.
Race 6 was a rare grade 5/6 over the 680m trip and Maximum Refusal started favourite. A surprise leader in Departure Gate off box 1 headed them and led for quite a while. He held off a challenge from Barbados Express before Aston Kipchoge started to get mobile. Approaching the finish line, Departure Gate got a little tired and Aston Kipchoge was able to pick him up to land a very nice win. A very strong grade 5 greeted us for the 7th of the night. In a ripping race, Classic Mclaren was able to lead with the enigma Beatific outside of him. In a close finish, Classic proved too classy and held off Beatific in 25.75. Race 8 and the feature for the night, the SA Distance Championship. A huge scratching of Burn Time opened up the race and led to Fantastic Radley being a well-supported favourite. It was a mad rush to the first turn but Bedrock Fred was able to use box 2 perfectly and push through to find a nice lead. The favourite Fantastic Radley lobbed a few lengths behind him and all of a sudden it was race on. In a gripping finish, Bedrock Fred was able to hang on and land a very nice win in 38.79.
A grade 6 over the 530m brought together a nice match race between Agent Swan and Zinfandel Boris. Agent Swan fresh off a nice Gawler win first up in SA, used box 1 perfectly to lead the field with the favourite giving him 6 lengths after another poor start. Agent Swan was able to hold on to win in 30.07 with Zinfandel Boris putting up a monster run to go down by a length, but his box manners keep hurting him. Race 10 and it looked like Snakebite Me’s race to lose after some impressive form. He used box 8 perfectly and sailed on down the outside to put up a nice lead mid-race. Victa Jess put in a nice run behind but there was no real concern for those who took the $1.50 about Snakebite Me as he landed a nice 25.67 win. Race 11 was another grade 6 over the 455m trip and Raging Redline started an odds on favourite. He was a bit tame last week but this week was a different dog. He fired out in a 7.90 early split and went on to win by 5 lengths in a fast 25.31. The last of the night and we saw another favourite lob as Time Striker put away the moderate field by 6 lengths in neat 25.63.
Pic: Bedrock Fred claims the SA Distance Championship (Credit: Kurt Donsberg Photography)
Dog to follow: Porridge Box - He’s been in here before but for good reason and he showed why again on Thursday. Put up a nice run over the 530m after getting outpaced early, he then used a lot of field sense to get himself into open-air late and was coming home very hard. The next step for him is over the 680m trip and that will suit very well.
Best Bet (Monday Night): Zipping Bates (Race 5 - Box #3) - Looks like a nice race for him, he has been very consistent since coming to SA and gets a big class drop from the dogs he raced Thursday night. The dog in box 2 should be able to lead and make some room for Zipping Bates and if Bates was able to lob behind the 2 he should be running it down.