Fantastic Victor the star of the show
Tuesday (Straight Track)
We had a cracking week of racing at Murray Bridge this week, which started with the Straight Track Cup meeting on Tuesday.
We had 12 different trainers have a win on Tuesday which is terrific, and the first of those was John Rees who had Miss Puddles break through for her maiden victory. After drawing box 1, the job looked a touch easier but she had to work really hard to win the race. She left the boxes fairly then shifted up the track, before driving hard to out the race favourite to her outside. The end result was a 17.05 with a margin of a nose! Well done John and Miss Muddles.
Brindle Martini made a winning return after a 2 month spell, for Simon Gessler. The Straight Track expert drew a suitable field for his return but had to work quite hard when he wanted to get to the outside fence from box 4, which required him to bump a few times with another runner. He eventually found the front and held on in 16.96. A fantastic gritty return from the Brindle chaser.
The Straight Track Cup Consolation race brought together a strong field of five. It was a brilliant performance from John Dutton that saw him take out the race. Curl’s Victory was the early leader in the race and she is generally pretty hard to run down once she leads! However a determined John Dutton chased with great ferocity midrace to keep wearing her down and eventually proving too good in a sharp 19.15.
The feature of the day was the Weblec Ace and Mepunga Blazer at Stud Straight Track Cup. It was a totally dominant and quite simply breathtaking performance from Fantastic Victor that saw him win in a simply airborne 18.86. The early speed from Fantastic Victor was sensational as he clocked a 6.82 first split, and it was that split that set up the win. Well done to Victor and all connections - a massive run!
Dog to follow: Bourne Brett - He has really thrived at the Straight Track and that was reflected with his effort on Tuesday, when running in the Consolation and finishing 2 lengths behind an impressive John Dutton. Hopefully Bourne Brett is back soon for a grade 5 as he will be hard to beat.
Friday (1-Turn)
It was another day where the winners were spread for everyone, on a card which had some very competitive races.
The very promising Captain Larry made it two in a row over the 395m trip, with an emphatic 22.37 victory. He has drawn box 8 the last two weeks but that hasn’t bothered him, as he has handled it with ease on both occasions. Next step will likely be the 455m trip for him and I am sure he will handle that no worries.
Rosie Red was an electric 22.17 winner over the short trip. She drew box 1 and with Woodside Zulu drawn outside, it looked her race to lose. With a quick beginning, Rosie Red was able to put the race away early and never look in any danger, as she glided across the Murray Bridge track. Well done to Rosie and Cam Butcher.
Greg Board has got a few handy pups at the moment and one of those is Spring Cocktail. After winning his first three races, he was thrown in the deeper end on Friday, coming up against more seasoned grade 5 dogs. It didn’t seem to phase the youngster, as he showed his customary box speed to find the front, before gripping on late in 22.55. That’s now four in a row and he is certainly going the right way about things!
She’s A Hotshot rounded off the card with a best of day 22.09 win. The black bitch has been excellent since her crack at the Million Dollar Chase. She has won all three since coming back and it is very hard to see when that ends with her in this sort of form.
Dog to follow: Fifty Eight - He’s a young dog that has been quite unassuming in his work lately. He’s not blessed with pace so the 395m trip isn’t very suitable, but he has still been running well regardless. If he can draw a box over the 455m trip, then he will have a good chance.