Federal Flash Flying Heading Into Murray Bridge Cup Final
Federal Flash Flying Heading Into Murray Bridge Cup Final
An excellent edition of the Group 3 Murray Bridge Cup awaits this Sunday night, with the
$25,000 to the winner feature race bringing together a strong line up.
Six cracking heats were run on Tuesday night, following a day delay due to the hot weather.
The heat winners were Will Vanson (25.83), Chapel Road (25.57), Divine Nature (25.60),
Adhana Rico (25.51), Federal Flash (25.66) and Wild Banker (25.56). Clearly it was an even set
of results in the heats and with no clear standout on times, luck and box draw will have
something to say in the final on Sunday.
Since its inception, the Murray Bridge Cup has proven to be a target for many trainers and it
always takes a good dog to win the race, which is held over the 455m distance. Last year's
winner was the Ben Rawlings trained Panorama, whilst Weblec Ranger and Air Marshall won
the previous two years.
One trainer who will be hoping to ensure it is a South Australian victory this year is Dave
Peckham, who will be arriving with the heavily inform Federal Flash, who continued its picket
fence to win his heat in terrific fashion, to make it five straight victories. It’s been a great run of
form for the white and brindle dog, which Peckham puts partly down to the dog having some
time off due to a strained leg muscle.
“He just had a bit of time off as he had a strained back leg muscle, so he’s just come back from
that and got his fitness up where it needs to be. He’s been racing the 455 at Murray Bridge
consistently. He’s been winning the top grade races going into the series, so he had a bit of
form on the board, so he’s just made the track his own at the right time.” said Peckham
The heat win proved somewhat simple, with Federal Flash stepping well from box six, before
doing some work in order to cross to the lead, but once he did, he was never really in danger.
Around the turn, he had set up a healthy margin, before going on to win in the good time of
25.66, with the heat panning out exactly like Peckham had hoped it would.
“It was pretty good, I thought it was a tough test for him going into the race and their was a bit of
pressure on going for five in a row, but he did well.” said Peckham
“It went how I hoped it would.”
It will be no easy task on Sunday night, with Federal Flash drawing box eight in a field which
has lots of early speed. If he is to win, then he will need to handle himself from the wide draw
and will likely need some luck along the way, which Peckham concedes is the case.
“I was hoping for the one or two (box), but then seven or eight were the next best draws I
thought. I think the eight is better than drawing four or five. I don’t recon (he can lead), I reckon
he will have to surrender the lead to Wild Banker or Chapel Road. I am hoping they have a bit of
a bump and scrimmage, then he can hopefully miss it and get around the outside. He has a
personal best of 25.48, albeit 11 months ago, but he can get around the 25.50 mark which I
think is quick enough to win the race. He hasn’t won on a circle out of box eight, he’s won two or
three times but that’s been up the straight, so that’s a bit of a hoodoo for him.” said Peckham
The cup won’t be the only quality race of the night, with the card highlighted by the following
feature races:
Fresh Pet Food 350m Final (Straight track)
Sky Racing 300m Final (Straight track)
Fischer Motors 395m Feature
John O’Neill Memorial 455m Murray Bridge Cup Consolation
Mepunga Blazer 530m Feature
Racing will start at 6:02pm local time, with a large crowd expected.