Hukanui takes out the SA Sprint Final
2018 BARGAIN STEEL CENTRE SA SPRINT CHAMPIONSHIP REVIEW
In almost perfect conditions a large and vocal crowd witnessed an outstanding race and performance in the 2018 Bargain Steel Centre SA Sprint Championship tonight at Angle Park. After the dramas of last week’s extreme heat where the Listed event was postponed until tonight it was a race not to be missed, where Hukanui confirmed himself as one of the best chasers in the State.
The Tony Rasmussen trained speedster started won of the favourites on the back of his brilliant 29.52 heat win a fortnight ago despite drawing awkwardly in box 5. A smart beginning easily offset his middle box as he quickly mustered to the first turn and challenged Cairnlea Kenny for the lead. The son of Kelsos Fusileer and Daddy’s Muffin put his paw to the floor and raced to the front as the high quality field moved towards the back straight. Cairnlea Kenny for Petar Jovanovic settled in second while both Purpose Driven for Cameron Butcher and Mr. Arjay for Colin Swain moved into forward positions from their wide draws. Off the back straight Hukanui was low flying in the lead hotly pursued by his challengers however once he lead most thought it was game over, and so it was as he went down to the finish line a strong winner in a slick 29.65 for the 515m journey in winning by 1 ½ lengths. His splits of 4.45, 16.91 and a run home of 12.74 made it almost impossible for anything to make ground. Cairnlea Kenny never gave up the chase in running a solid second while Purpose Driven was getting home nicely less than a length away and looks to be right back to his brilliant best.
Hukanui is locally bred by Jack Savaglia and is owned by both Tony & Lisa Rasmussen. On the presentation dais it was easy to see the emotion of his trainer and connections and the love they have for their greyhound that has been plagued by injury throughout his racing career. Hukanui has now won a total of 22 races from his 71 starts including 30 minor placings and prizemoney just under $85,000.