Huge Week of Racing at the Bridge
The past week at the Bridge…
Tuesday (Straight Track)
A terrific 10 race card for the heats of the Straight Track Championships.
Greg Board kicked off the day with Spring Illusion who was pretty warm in the market. He was only slowly away but stormed home and won very nicely in 16.80. Greg made it two for the day when his promising pup Spring Ammo collected quite comfortably in the fifth.
The first heat of the Championships was much anticipated, with booming youngster He’s On Fire creating plenty of interest going into the race. The young dog was his customary explosive self out of boxes before he showed a new side of him, with a lot of strength and grit at the back end of the race. He was challenged by the strong Barcia Rocks late but kicked clear and went a terrific 19.14. That’s four in a row for him and he is certainly going the right away about things to start his career, although this week will provide an acid test when he lines up in the final.
Aston Olenna won the second heat whilst My Name’s Craig took out the third, with the former taking a real liking to this straight track since going there. The box draw for the final has made things incredibly interesting with Aston Olenna drawing a slightly awkward draw with the red. No matter which two dogs get through to the final, both will represent South Australia very well in Queensland.
Dog to follow: Spring Illusion - I was really taken with his win on Tuesday. It’s never easy to come from off the speed to win up the straight but the way he did it was just excellent. The run was also his first for 6 weeks so their must be some improvement in him. He will certainly be next to impossible to beat when he lines up in a grade 6 over the 350m trip.
Sunday (1-Turn)
A sensational card came together on Sunday night, for the heats of the Oaks and Derby. Border closures led to a few scratchings, but the races were still full of quality.
Race 1 was intriguing, albeit with a four dog field as we saw the return of Bedrock Fred from an achilles injury. Vontae Mack led the field for a good portion of the race, but got weary late as Aston Odyssey and Weblec Pearl closed turning for home. Those two fought out of the finish with Aston Odyssey getting the bob in over Weblec Pearl, the latter pretty stiff not to win, getting closed in on the rail up the straight.
The Derby heats followed and the winners were Spring Ammo, Springvale Max and Fantastic Keary. I thought Springvale Max was the most impressive winner, having to deal with some serious pressure in the run and losing a few lengths at the top of the turn. He then came again and rundown Midnight Blast in 25.80. The dog which will be hardest to beat in the final for mine is Shall Not, who was just nutted by Fantastic Keary in his race. Shall Not drove really hard midrace to find the top but got a bit lost around the turn before Keary came again and got him in 25.81.
The Oaks heats were just as good as the Derby with Zinfandel Nikki and Spring Agatha winning both of their heats. Zinfandel Nikki was excellent in giving She’s A Hotshot a start and a beating, whilst we finally saw what Spring Agatha can do, as she clicked through the gears before roaring home to run down the hot pot in Springvale Maddi. The box draw for this race has proven interesting, but Springvale Maddi will be my tip in the final with her brilliant first split.
Photo: An airborne Spring Agatha springs over the line
Credit: Kurt Donsberg Photography
Fantastic Victor is the most inform dog in the state right now, with three booming victories from his last three starts. Coming off a flying 30.28 victory at Angle Park, he looked an absolute certainty from the red on Sunday, and certainty he was. He came out a bit average but went whoosh thereafter, turning on the afterburners to rail under Allinga Road, before absolutely destroying the quality field. He went on to win by 8 lengths in an airborne 25.31 on a slow night. Hard to see Fantastic Victor getting rolled anytime soon.
Dog to follow: Runaway Lad - Been a bit hit and miss with his racing in recent times, but his effort Sunday was A1. He came out behind the hot favourite, Aston Gypsy and got caught in a bit of traffic. After navigating a clear path mid race he made a bit of ground late to finish 3 lengths of Aston Gypsy, and ran 22.51 himself which is very neat. Hopefully backs up again next sunday and can just get the right draw because he will be hard to beat.