Big night of racing at Angle Park for Nationals
SIR TRUCULENT RETURNS HOME WITH A VICTORY
After a short stint in Victoria racing against some of the best stayers in the land, SA fans were happy to see local staying star Sir Truculent return to Angle Park and continue on his winning way for trainer Wally Harkins.
With the State Final of the Nationals for the stayers being a best 8, Sir Truculent drew box 5 in a strong local edition of this years series. A winner of 18 of his 33 starts over the 731m journey the son of Worm Burner and Establish was sent out a short priced favourite as the start was affected. Bouncing out of the boxes early was the Gino Grgurovic trained Miss Bellawood to lead them up with Five Thirty for Lauren Harris into second and My Boy Bean for Clint Trengove into third however they were quickly followed through by the “Truck” showing improved box speed as he made ground quickly. As the field raced past the winning post on the first occasions there was an air of anticipation as Sir Truculent had moved to second and had Miss Bellawood clearly in his sights and as they entered the back straight he loomed up and accelerated past her to take up the lead. Miss Bellawood was sticking on well while Five Thirty was putting together a handy run in third. Up and coming stayer Vontae Mack for Ben Rawlings after a slow beginning had moved to fourth however they were all flat out chasing Sir Truculent.
As heads had turned for home Sir Truculent was in no danger going on to win in dominate fashion by 4.50 lengths ahead of a game Miss Bellawood while Five Thirty returned to near his best with a handy third 3 lengths away.
Sir Truculent has now won 25 races with 19 placing’s from 56 starts and tipped over the $100,000 in prizemoney with tonight’s win. He stamped himself as a star of SA racing and in good news for the local fans we will see him here for a bit longer until later in the year when he may venue back over the border to take on the best stayers in the land. For some of the other State final winners one cant help think they may be happy there is no National final this year as taking on the “Truck” in this form would be a tough ask.
SHADOW MIST SHOWS HIS CLASS IN THE SPRINT FINAL
All eyes turned to the SA Sprint final of the Nationals when the exciting sprinter Shadow Mist for trainer Lauren Harris was sent out a short priced favorite after demolishing his heat rivals in a blistering 29.33 last week.
The son of Dyna Double One and Diva’s Shadow has been in hot form since arriving in SA winning 8 of his 10 starts for the Harris kennel with many suggesting he could be ready to take the mantle away from SA’s darling of the track, Coorong Lucy as the State’s best sprinter.
Those questions were answered in the affirmative when Shadow Mist flew out of the boxes when the start was affected running a flying 4.40 to the post and then sizzled down the back straight in a slick 16.61 before cruising home to victory in a sharp 29.39 after leading throughout. He won by 4.50 lengths ahead of Blister for Chris Jaensch who ran another solid race and continues to be one of the most improved sprinters in the state while it was great to see Axel Footluce for Ken Trowbridge who has been injury plagued over his career return to good form with a nice third after getting a run from reserve.
Shadow Mist has now won 19 races from 43 starts, with 10 minor placings and about $55,000 in prizemoney. There will some big decisions ahead for the Harris kennel and connections with Shadow Mist now booking a spot in the semi finals of the Million Dollar Chase at Wentworth Park after winning tonight’s State final if they nominate. This series clashes with the Group 1 Adelaide Cup on 9th October so to chase a million dollars or win a Group 1 in your home state is defiantly some food for thought.