Fantastic Dixie Continues Stunning Return With Cup Heat Win
Tuesday (Straight track)
Bosko Stamekovic returned to the straight track on Tuesday and walked away with two very impressive winners. It was the win of So Be It that was seriously eye-catching, despite the fact he was a red hot favourite. Returning from a lengthy spell for just his third career start, it was his first go over the 350m trip and things were not looking good when he was cleaned up out of the boxes and lost quite a few lengths. The talent and ability of the brindle dog got him out of trouble though, as he balanced up and flew through his gears, before running away to win by 5 lengths in a best of the day 19.17 - astonishing effort! The other winner for Bosko was Wishing You who made the most of a drop back in class, taking out her grade 6 event over 300m. She stepped well from box three and was led initially, but showed strength and determination to fight back late and get the job done in 17.00. A nice day for Bosko and hopefully So Be It can stay together, he’s a seriously fast animal!
Damien Smith has only recently moved to the Murray Bridge area and it was a dominant performance from his chaser Bruce Mick Glenn that saw him out the 4/5 grade race over the 300m trip. He had box six to deal with, but came out flying early and quickly got himself to a clear lead. It was smooth sailing when he was 3 lengths ahead mid race as he stormed away for an easy 16.74 victory. He’s certainly going quite well at the moment!
You will struggle to find many dogs going better in the state than Cash On Delivery, with the black dog totally in the zone right now. It was a high class grade 4 field with the returning He’s On Fire also going around, but the early speed of Cash On Delivery simply proved far too much. From box five he led in a flying 4.36 first split, which helped set up a nice margin mid-race. He was never going to be caught after that, running a way for a best of the day 16.54. He’s simply proving unstoppable at the moment and it will stay that way running times like that!
Dog to follow: Verve To Excel - Was first up for Paul Rehmann on Tuesday and it’s fair to say his recent form was only moderate, however his first up effort was anything but. Starting from box four over the 300m trip, he was crunched early and not given any clear running room, but after that he barged his way clear and strode quite nicely. The winner in the form of Bruce Mick Glenn was off and gone but Verve To Excel ran a clear second, with his personal time of 16.94 impressive given the interference he faced.
Sunday (1-Turn)
The heats of the Group 3 Daish Irrigation and Fodder Murray Bridge Cup were the highlight of our Sunday night card and despite some windy and not very pleasant conditions, the racing was top class.
The quickest qualifier for the final next Sunday was the Elizabeth Chegia trained Fantastic Dixie, who continued her remarkable return to the racetrack with an electric 25.42 victory, which was also the best of the night. She drew well with box one and was afforded plenty of room to muster through after being fairly away. It was a bit tight as they went into the turn, but Fantastic Dixie kept railing and as they entered the straight, she set her sights on the leader. In the home straight she went straight past, finding the front and storming away. It was a massive 6 lengths victory and will see her start as one of the favourites next week.
Tony Rasmussen had a dominant night at the track, with four winners which included two winners of the Cup heats. Sandave Diamond was at his very best as he used box one perfectly to take out the first heat, leading all the way in 25.66. The old boy in Victa Mikey overcame a tricky box seven to win with a barnstorming effort, running over the top late in his heat, stopping the clock at 25.84. The other winners for Tony were the maiden Lady Rocker (Spiral Nikita x My Kinda Song) who overcame trouble to win in 23.32, whilst Follow Me Raja won his grade 6 narrowly in 22.53.
Away from the cup heats, we saw a phenomenal performance from the 5 year old Sir Truculent who won brilliantly in 39.45 over the 680m trip. After only having four starts so far this year over shorter distances, he showed that he has still got it with the powerful and dominant effort. In the small field of three, they were quite bunched for much of the race, but at the top of the straight Sir Truculent let rip, storming away from the others for the big 7 length win. A top effort and one that most certainly would have pleased his trainer Wally Harkins!
Dog to follow: Pockets Watson - He’s a nice dog and was having his first start at the track on Sunday. In a strong grade 6 field over the 455m journey, he was only fairly away and doing some work. Hitting the turn, he was starting to make good ground but was taken out wide by a runner underneath him, which cost him a lot of ground. Despite this, he rallied hard and stormed home late, before going down narrowly in good time. He will be back next week and he will take plenty of beating.
The final of The Daish Irrigation and Fodder Murray Bridge Cup will be run next Sunday night and it promises to be a terrific night on course, with a large crowd expected to attend.