Group 3 Brian Johnstone Preview
2014 BRIAN JOHNSTONE PREVIEW
Group 1 winning trainer Jeff Britton has returned to Adelaide with a strong kennel of greyhounds in the hope of taking out another feature event on the National calendar.
The Victorian trainer who is in career best form himself will have 5 runners contesting the Group 3 Brian Johnstone series beginning on Wednesday 19th November at Angle Park.
In the first heat which is race 7 on the 12 event program due to jump at 1.37pm (SA time), Britton will box Oakvale Flyer out of the pink over the 515m. She is a winner of 8 of her 27 starts and almost $75,000 in prizemoney and was placed last start in a heat of the rich Melbourne Cup series behind Keybow who is favourite for the final. She is a classy type drawn to suit however she will be taking on two local up and coming types in Dashing Dee Dee and Spicy Peppa. Dashing Dee Dee for Gavin Harris has shown she has brilliant speed in running 29.90 back in October with a powerful run home whereas Spicy Peppa for Cameron Butcher has good early speed winning three on end recently including the second prelude of this series. Throw in the incredibly consistent Young Gun McBain from box 1 who has run second on 16 occasions and you have a terrific start to the series.
The second heat see’s the star of the Britton kennel in Oakvale Destiny step out from box 2. She loves Angle Park winning the Group 3 SA Oaks back in September followed by a brilliant third in the Group 1 Adelaide Cup behind Allen Deed in October. Most recently she was also placed in a heat of the Melbourne Cup behind Above All after running second to Iva Vision in the 4 dog Shootout at Sandown and second to Buckle Up Wes in the Group 1 Topgun at the Meadows. She looks the top pick even though both Gun McBain for Todd Kelly and Kasai Warrior for Petar Jovanovic could not have been more impressive in winning on Thursday night at Angle Park. Gun McBain has brilliant early dash and showed that in his blistering 29.90 win after leading throughout and Kasia Warrior returned to his very best with a strong 30.17 performance. Whilst drawn a little wide they could pose a serious threat to Britton’s star chaser.
In the third heat Britton also has a strong hand with Weblec Belle who has shown ability in her 12 runs to date. She has won at Sandown in a flying 29.88 three starts back and was placed in open company behind Crackerjack Dak who was placed in the Group 1 National Sprint final at Cannington. She has drawn box 7 and probably won’t start favourite with the outstanding local performer Dodger I Am for Cameron Butcher in box 2 the likely punters elect. He has won 10 of his 14 starts and possesses a brilliant finish to his races. He needs a touch of luck early however given galloping room over the final stages he should prove too strong. Sunday Shoes for Nathan Wilson looks the trifecta in what should be an interesting affair.
The final heat to jump at 2.32pm (SA time) sees a terrific clash between brother and sister when Texas Titan out of box 2 for Jeff Britton takes on Footluce Diva out of box 1 for Ken Trowbridge. Both are breed from the same Vapour Whirl x Foot Luce litter which has been simply outstanding for breeders Nathan Wilson and Ken & Melissa Trowbridge. Texas Titan is a powerful performer who won a heat of the Group 1 Adelaide Cup and then was 4th in the final and most recently has competed at the highest level in the country. Footluce Diva rose to prominence in the Group 3 SA Oaks final where she flashed home for second behind sister Oakvale Destiny and recently ran a blistering 29.79 from the red box. It looks a super clash to finish of the heats with the likes of Gunsmoke McBain and Weblec Rose to fill the minors.
The Group 3 Brian Johnstone series is for SA Bred greyhounds whelped in July 2012 to December 2012 and paid up for Classic 2014.
The first four from each heat will qualify for the two $4,800 semi finals on Thursday 27th November. From there the first four from the two semi finals will qualify for the $36,000 Brian Johnstone final on Thursday 4th December.