Everyone’s a Winner
Tuesday (Straight Track)
Well it was great to have 2 meetings at The Bridge this week! Plenty of winners spread amongst a lot of trainers.
Tim Ieraci had the first winner in Suhana, which just held on in a tight finish in 16.82. The black bitch has had a bit of time off and returned with a start at Angle Park where she showed pace but went wide on the turn, before coming to the straight. She seemed to enjoy the track and handled it quite well. Looks to have come back much better than her first preparation and hopefully she can string a couple together now.
Arch Of Daisy’s took out the grade 6 final over the 300m trip, after qualifying with the quickest win the week prior. She was electric on route to her demolition of the handy field, winning in a flying 16.59 (BOD) showing her brilliance early.
We’ve had some Victorian flavour in recent weeks at Murray Bridge, with some trainers making the drive over. Brain Hodgson did that on Tuesday and went home with a winner in the form of Major Cyclone, who took out the last quite comfortably in 19.33. I’m not sure if the trend continues, but the Victorians are generally competitive when they come over.
Dog to follow: My Mum’s Value - The dog is going really well as of late, and the run on Tuesday was really good after some terrific efforts at Angle Park. Seemed to resent box 1 a little with pressure on his outside and it probably cost him the race. Has another good challenge this Tuesday upcoming, but he’s up to it and comes up with a bit nicer draw.
Friday (1-Turn)
A 680m race was first up on Friday and it was terrific to see Aston Kipchoge claim his first victory since May last year. The field and draw set up well for him, but that didn’t really matter in the end, as he was able to lead and then space them towards the back end. A great win and super effort from Matty Payne for sticking with him.
You won’t find many dogs going better right now than It’s Your Shout. He’s always shown glimpses of ability, but his two runs back from a short spell have been electric. He backed up a terrific win on Monday night with a super sharp 22.28 (BOD) victory on Friday. You can be confident in following him in the immediate future.
Aston Hayato took out the day’s open grade race, with a very classy 22.30 effort. It was a really good run considering he was first up for a month and had to beat dogs like Spring Vinnie and Patched. In the same token, I thought Patched was quite good in his first run for three months too. Showed pace but lost it on the turn, however still finished within 3 lengths.
Flash Banner won with a BOD 25.65 over the 455m trip, continuing his good run of form. It was a professional win, jumping well and getting on the arm, before holding off a late charge. Steven Brook also made it a double for the day when My Villanelle used box 8 perfectly in race 11, winning by 4 lengths in a handy 22.52.
Photo: My Villanelle at the peak of a leap
Credit: Kurt Donsberg Photography
Dog to follow: Woodside Brockie - Got some ability this pup and I like the way he goes about it. Jumped well on Friday but was outpaced by a superior animal in Lady Luck. However, once outpaced he still came again and only went down by a length. It was a great effort and I am sure he will be winning again soon.