Kruger Lass Takes Out Bothing Stayers Cup
Wednesday
Kevin Bewley has been picking up a couple of winners in recent times and that continued at the meeting on Wednesday with another double.
Comic Capers broke his maiden when winning quite impressively from box seven in the first race of the day. It was a match race according to the market between himself and Betty Quokka and with a good beginning it was Comic Capers took the early lead, quickly finding himself a few lengths ahead in front. Around the turn he looked good, and despite getting a little tired late, he did more than enough to win in a solid 23.23. Escape Inn then completed the double with a comprehensive performance from box one in race five. She was able to lead the field with a slick 8.79 first split and from there she was never bothered, winning easily in 23.19. Well done to Kev on a nice day.
Paula Hearnden hasn’t had the best of luck lately with her team, so it was terrific to see Long Gully Lisa find herself on the winner’s stall. From box six against a couple of handy types, she certainly had it all ahead of her, but the honest combatant was able to do what she does best, and that is leave the boxes quickly. After getting to the front, she found herself a couple of lengths in front, however she had a couple of challengers in behind. In the home straight she still held a margin and was able to hang on to win in 23.00.
Ben Rawlings was able to land a race-to-race double as well with two of his homebred chasers. Agent Nineteen looked one of the better bets of the day in race nine, with the market gravitating towards her for the 531m event. From box two, she came out quickly and led easily, quickly finding herself 3 lengths ahead coming out of the first turn. It was a totally dominant performance from there as she won easily in a super slick 30.78. Not a time you see often in the time graded races! Her littermate then won the next race, with Agent Eleven taking out race ten over the 400m trip. From box five, she stepped okay but was led to her inside, however she showed some smarts and raced in the middle of the track, before dropping the leader midrace and scooting clear. She ended up winning pretty comfortably by 3 lengths in 23.09.
Sunday
It was a top night of racing on Sunday, with the headline act the Bothing Stayers Cup which was taken out by a rising star in the form of Kruger Lass, who was brilliant in victory.
A couple of big scratchings made it a more even race, with Spring Agatha starting favourite from her preferred box eight. When the boxes opened it was Springvale Rex that burnt to the front and set up a two-length lead. With the margin closing up the back straight, Spring Agatha took over in front and looked as if she would run away with it. Springvale Rex then took over again with the wall behind closing in. With a tangle in front, Kruger Lass charged around and levelled up to Springvale Rex, before going past to land a memorable victory in 37.83. Springvale Rex and Howling Hoss finished in behind, but all honours went the way of Kruger Lass. The now two and half year-old bitch has shown that she has the speed to perform with anything over 500m, but also the strength to run out a 700m which is incredibly exciting for her trainer Bronwyn Walsh. The win would have also made the long drive back to Mildura a little bit nicer for Bronwyn!
A real rising star in the form of Victa Marli showed that she is maturing and getting better with a strong but fast victory on Sunday night. After drawing box eight in a quality juvenile race, she was led early by Agent Four who had just come out of the South Australian Oaks series. Up the back straight, Victa Marli displayed her brilliant speed, going straight past Agent Four and taking a two-length lead to the turn. Arguably the most impressive part of her run was the last section, as she continued to run away from the field and win easily by a couple of lengths in a flying 22.47. She has always shown lightning speed and on occasions struggled to run out her races, but clearly the penny has dropped with some maturity. Her future looks rather bright!
On a night of fast times, there were none faster than Toby West, who equalled the track record, which has been held by Avid Tyson for 8 years. Trained by Adam Manton, Toby West has been in brilliant form, which included running a slick time at Angle Park last week. He wasn’t favourite for the event on Sunday night, with Taylor Toves taking those honours, but after 10 metres, there was no doubt who punters would’ve wanted to be on. From box six, he jumped and found himself a close second early, before rushing to the front and striding out well. From there, he put a space on the field, winning by 6 lengths in a lightning 22.27. That was his 22nd career win and he has shown an amazing ability to adapt to any distance, which is not always easy to do as you get older. Well done to Adam and his team, and good luck to anyone coming up against Toby West in the next few weeks!