Dazzling Cruiser Looking to Sparkle on Thursday Night
A good night of racing awaits for this Thursday night at Angle Park with twelve quality races in store.
Two of the highlights will be the fast class events over the 530m and 595m distances, with some high-quality chasers engaged in those races.
Tony Nobes will bring the talented Dazzling Cruiser back to the ‘city’ when she lines up in a Grade 5 over the 530m trip.
It was only last week that she put up a terrific performance, to defeat a strong field over the 531m trip at Gawler. On that occasion, she showed both incredible early speed and ran the trip out strongly, winning in a fast 30.68.
That run followed an extensive period of good form from Dazzling Cruiser, but the run and effort still came as a pleasing surprise for Nobes.
“In all honesty, I was taken back a bit just by the way she started. It was a brilliant run,” Nobes said on its last start win.
“She had a bit of luck no doubt with a bit of trouble behind her but I just thought it was a brilliant run and I wasn’t expecting that for her first run over the 531 at Gawler.”
Dazzling Cruiser has won at Angle Park over the 530m distance before, having run a good time of 30.76. She will need to bring her best form if she is to offset her tricky box seven draw, but if she can reproduce her last start effort, then she is going to take some beating in the race.
“As I said to the owners, it is a bit harder at Angle Park because the track is a bit wider than Gawler,” Nobes said.
“Looking at it, I feel that their isn’t a lot of speed immediately under her, so if she can cross and lob in the top two or top three then I think she will go on with it after that.”
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The Yvonne Maxwell trained Petina has been in terrific form recently, running over the 530m and 595m distances in recent starts.
Two starts ago over the 595m trip, she produced a dazzling last to first victory, weaving through the field and running home powerfully to win in 34.96. Last week, she nearly produced another stunning last to first victory over the 530m distance, running a fast finishing third. The nearing three old, continues to please and surprise Maxwell, who continues to be impressed by her efforts.
“Well she’s surprising me every start. She’s just improving.” Maxwell said.
“Her mum, Temerity Spirit, was always a held back dog and she (Petina) was like that, but now she’s starting to jump on people and wants pats from everyone, so she’s really coming out of her shell.”
Maxwell also said that the dog was beginning to find its feet against other chasers in a race setting.
“It’s only the last two starts that she’s started to mingle in a field, because before she wouldn’t go near them,” she said.
“Last start, the seven came in and checked her and I thought she would pull back again and go around, but she took the knock and kept going. So she’s just starting to learn how to deal with being inside a dog.”
Patina will line up in a grade 6 over the 530m distance, when she exits box four, in a race that has a lot of early speed, which may just help her get the clear run that she needs. Maxwell puts her chances down to the start of the race and will be hoping that she can at least jump with them.
“It depends how she jumps, some days she can just jump terribly, but on other days she can sort of jump with them, but last,” Maxwell said.
Best Bet: Could Be King (Race 8, Number 4)
Value Bet: Petina (Race 7, Number 4)