Howard Ashton semis headline Angle Park action
The Group 3 Howard Ashton series continues Thursday night with a pair of intriguing semi-finals headlined by star chaser Victa Damian, fresh off equalling the track record in his heat last week.
Drawn in box seven again, Victa Damian looks to face some stiffer competition with kennelmate and Anniversary Cup winner Victa Alby set to line up alongside it in box five.
However, speaking on GRSA’s The Dogcast, race caller Brenton Yates said that Victa Damian’s biggest contest will be against the clock.
“I don’t see it a battle at all. I see it as a track record to Victa Damian,” Yates said.
“It just sets up beautifully. There is no speed underneath from the 6 (Faster than Slow), there is no speed outside with the 8 (Live It).
“He is just going to have a passage to drive a truck through, put the foot to the floor and burn. It's better than last week and it’s a track record.”
Victa Damian remains the clear favourite but Victa Alby is not to be underestimated having previously run a 30.23 best time and will pose the greatest threat to the star chaser.
While those two dogs are a clear top two in the race, the first four will progress to next week’s final with Live it, Victa Tony and Time After Time all in the mix to secure a place.
The second semi-final appears to be a much more even affair with several dogs boasting winning chances.
Coorong Cam enters the race in winning form after being Victa Alby in their heats last week while Victa Speed and Victa Tara will also have claims.
However, Yates liked the other heat winner in the race Victa Marli to claim a win in the semi-final.
“I like Victa Marli,” Yates said.
“I thought she would get over and I thought she would get out in front of Victa Speed.”
“I thought she would boot through and get the speed, be in the lead and head off Victa Tara and I thought she would be a bit stronger home.”
While the Howard Ashton semi-finals will take centre stage, there are also several other races featuring on the Angle Park program, which will catch the eye of punters.
With the Shane McQueen series kicking off next week, we see a pair of interesting 595m races early on the card which could offer punters an excellent form guide for the event.