He’s On Fire claims Straight Track glory
Tuesday (Straight Track)
It was a big day up the straight on Tuesday, with the running of the State National Straight Track Final. He’s On Fire went out a very short $1.25 favourite and didn’t let the punters down as he took out the feature final. It wasn’t all that easy, as he took a couple of strides to get going before he was able to lead the field. He then had to deal with a massive mid race challenge from the Ben Rawlings trained I’m Gifted Too who momentarily found the front with 100m to go. In the end He’s On Fire was too strong as he got the job done in 19.05. I’m Gifted too finished second, just over a length away. Both dogs will now proudly represent the state in New South Wales, on the glorious Richmond Straight Track. Goodluck to both dogs and hopefully we can see them produce their best!
Mo Slater continued her excellent form for Wendy Sebastyan, winning again and making it two in a row. After turning a red hot favourite last week, she went out the punters elect this week and was able to show why. She left well and ran a quick 4.36 first split, before sizzling mid race and creating a race winning lead. The end result was a two length win in a BOD 16.60. Hopefully her form can continue because she looks pretty hard to beat at the moment!
Miss Puddles was able to crack another victory which was her second for her career. She has done all her racing at the straight track and the experience showed on Tuesday, when she was able to use box one beautifully to take an early lead, before proving too slick for the others as she clocked a career best 16.91. Well done to trainer John Rees and hopefully Miss Puddles can put a couple more wins together!
Dog to follow: Spring Line - She’s a bitch that had a lot of promise earlier in her career but has lost form since. She’s had a spell and her run on Tuesday was just the third start back this preparation, but I thought it was solid despite running last! She came out well from box five but ended up in a bumping duel the whole way up the straight with the dog underneath who wanted to get wide, whilst she wanted to get to the fence. If she can just come up with a suitable draw and field, I think she can surprise at good odds.
Sunday (1-Turn)
The big week at the Bridge continued on Sunday night with two heats of the inaugural North vs South challenge. The first heat was the Murray Bridge 395m event, with our better sprinters taking part. It was a blowout result in the end with Hukanui Lady getting the job done from box six at a big price. She came out far better than normal and with that she was able to lead into the turn, before breaking clear late for a dominant 22.35 victory. In second was Victa Kurt and Victa Buzz for third, with all three trained by Lisa Rasmussen! Not a bad effort.
The 530m heat only had five dogs engaged but it was still a strong heat. Finniss Flash and Spring Agatha were the two hot favourites in the race, given their impressive form at the track. Finniss Flash came out better from box one, but Spring Agatha only landed a couple of lengths away as they settled, and given her strength most would have thought that she would get past Finniss Flash. That did not eventuate, as Finniss Flash was just too good and held off a fast finish from Spring Agatha, to win by a half length in 29.88.
Adrien Chevalier returned to the winners list with his chaser Fully Fledged causing a monster boilover in a small field of five over the 530m journey. After a couple of runs over the longer trips, he was always going to be strong, but on Sunday he was able to land nice and close to the leaders. He was running third down the back, just three lengths off the leader, and after making a smart decision to peel wide around the turn he made his charge, and it proved too much for the others as he arrived in time. That was a breakthrough win since arriving to SA and maybe a confidence booster for him.
Dog to follow: War Drum Express - He’s been good since joining the care of Clint Trengove and on Sunday he ran another beauty. It was the first time that we saw him at Murray Bridge and he seemed to really enjoy the track. He settled towards the rear but once he balanced up he was able to click through the gears. He made a big run late and gave the winner a freight, but missed out by a length. A great run and no doubt he will be winning again soon.