Emerley Bruce Produces a Sunday Special
Tuesday (Straight track)
Wally Harkins had an enjoyable day up the straight on Tuesday with two winners from the two chasers that he brought to the track. Sticky Rice (Mepunga Blazer x Establish) had started her career nicely with two sound efforts, before breaking her maiden status with a tight victory. From box four in an even race, she just started favourite. A good beginning saw her position up in the lead, racing in the middle of the track. She was doing it quite well and despite getting slightly tired towards the end, she held on for a nice 17.21 win. Wally had to wait until the second to last race on the card for Night Wish to strut her stuff. She found a four dog field but was given very little hope in the market. A handy 7.12 first split saw Night Wish find the front and she was doing it well. Towards the end she had a challenger come right up to her, but she kept her focus and got the bob in for a good win. Well done Wally on a good day!
Love And Rain relished a drop back in grade when she lined up over the 300m trip in a grade 5, as opposed to the free for all races she had been contesting lately. Her box manners were not on show when the boxes opened and she quickly found herself a few lengths off the front. Class and strength quickly came to hand as she made a good move midrace to get herself in a close position, before overpowering the leader late for an impressive 16.94 win. It certainly would have made the drive home for her trainer Yvonne Maxwell an enjoyable one!
Manuel Stuppos does a terrific job with chasers and one of them is Jet Impact, who is making good progress every time he starts and that continued with a strong win on Tuesday. It was a poor draw with box seven for the black dog, but he was able to get some room when the boxes opened and balanced up in a nice spot. It wasn’t all smooth sailing with plenty of pressure around him mid race. It was ultimately his strength that saw him win by a neck in an absolute thriller, clocking 16.95 which is handy enough. The time he clocked at his second ever start was only 17.53, so he is definitely on the way up and hopefully it can continue.
Dog to follow: Bourne Nancy - Had her second start up the straight and I thought the effort to run third was impressive. From box five, she was keen to get to the rails and as a result of that, found herself in a bumping duel for a good proportion of the race. Not at any point was she able to get to her spot on the rail, so it was a really determined run. If she can draw a low draw soon up the straight then she will take some stopping.
Sunday (1-Turn)
Jack Trengove had a terrific night at Murray Bridge on Sunday, collecting three winners for himself. Emerley Bruce was the most impressive of the lot, with the black dog continuing his unbelievable form that he is in at the moment. From box seven, he came out humming in a 4.77 first split which is absolutely electric and is in fact the equal quickest first split we have ever seen at the track. That first split unsurprisingly set up a comfortable lead as they went into the bend and from there he was just untouchable, running away for a best of the night 22.26 victory. A super sharp run from the chaser who is going to be near impossible to beat in this form. Jack’s other two winners were Up There Rocco (Moreira x Monster Foxy) who finally broke his maiden victory before the ever consistent Emerley Sharon picked up another victory, with her early speed proving too much to handle for the grade 6 field. Well done to Jack who has started his year off terrifically.
Nathan Goodenough brought Sky Stone back to the one turn track for another crack after a somewhat disappointing effort the week prior. He started a raging hot favourite from a suitable box eight draw, but when the boxes opened it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the $1.28 hope. The ever reliable Anna’s Spark fired out to the lead with Sky Stone finding himself last early and needing to do a bit of work. Around the turn Sky Stone flicked through his gears and made a terrific move. He loomed ominously at the top of the straight, before going straight past the leader and winning in a 22.53 gallop. He’s getting better with racing this guy and that run was a good improvement from his first effort at the track the week before.
The Wendy Sebastyan trained Spring Flute found herself back on the winners list thanks to a strong effort over the 395m trip. From box two she was led by the consistent Grab The Pizzas, but Spring Flute was able to position up in a nice stalking spot. Around the turn she was looking good and making quick ground on the leader. In the home straight she went straight past and ran away, winning really well in a quick 22.48, which was two lengths quicker than what the fast class ran in the next race!
A good night all up at the Bridge.
Dog to follow: Gemtree Maximus - Well the old boy seems to be back again. From box seven over the short trip, he jumped well but found some bother going into the turn. He was able to manage that and pose a real threat to the leader as they went around the turn. He was going well in the home straight but just ran out of time, going down narrowly. That was his third start in a row and he certainly seems to be getting better with racing.