Launching Pad Final main act on Thursday's Angle Park card
Peaky Boo The One To Beat In Launching Pad Final
This Thursday night’s feature at Angle Park will be the 2024 South Australian Launching Pad Final, which will see one South Australian trained chaser make their way over to Sandown Park for the very lucrative series there.
Two heats were run last week with the winners being the Richard Pearce trained Keep It Zipped, who held the fence early and stuck on to win in 31.08. The other winner was the Ben Rawlings trained Peaky Boo, who was breathtaking en route to his best of the night win in 30.29.
Since arriving in South Australia, Peaky Boo has made a brilliant start to his journey here, having won three out of his four starts, all of which have been in red hot times. On a night that wasn’t producing fast times, Peaky Boo was able to lead all the way last week and run fast splits of 5.28-17.51-30.29, which is a time that is only reserved for the top quality dogs. It was an effort that didn’t come as a huge surprise to Rawlings, but it was one that he was glad to see him produce.
“He was obviously super last week, the fields were lacking and when he drew the red, he looked like he would get it done. It was nice to see him run 5.28 (early), he’s trialled 5.21 and 5.24, so I knew he could get into the ‘20s’ and be able to run that sort of time early and find the lead. I think there's no doubt that the track was a little bit off, (Victa) Marli landed in front and only went 30.62, he’s probably going to get into the ‘10s’ or even a touch under if he gets another clean look on a good track. But yep, he was super last week.” said Rawlings.
Backing up after such a fast run isn’t always easy to do, but Peaky Boo has shown so far that is something he can keep replicating. Last week's run was off the back of a two week break for Peaky Boo and Rawlings is hopeful that a quiet week this week will have him ready to roll again for Thursday night.
“He’s had a quiet week, he was actually a bit touchy in the wrist, but it was nothing major so we’ve given him a quiet week.” said Rawlings.
Box seven is the draw that Peaky Boo has been dealt with for Thursday night, as he attempts to make four wins from his last five and to book his ticket to the Launching Pad, but for the keen railing chaser, it is potentially an awkward draw if he doesn’t jump as fast as he can. Rawlings concedes that it's a tough draw, but has full faith in his chaser's ability to get the job done.
“He’s obviously got a rough draw with box seven, but in saying that the five (Transplant King) and six (Keep It Zipped) want to get down, Robin’s dog in the pink (Peace Belle) has got a bit of speed, so hopefully he (Peaky Boo) can handle that. If we’re serious about going over for the series then he would need to be able to win this race and handle the draw. If he’s not able to do it then he’s not really up to going over to compete at Sandown. Obviously I think he can do that, he’s got more left in him, he’s still very silly. A few people at the track made comments about how worked up he gets. He’s still got some maturing to do and if he can keep improving with every run, then he will be a nice one for the future. Hopefully he gets a clear run to the turn and gets over. He did show in the St Leger that if he does get checked then he will keep coming, so if things don’t go his way then hopefully can find a way to win.” said Rawlings
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Tank full and ready for Angle Park hitout
Another chaser who will be aiming to land a win on Thursday is Ethanol Tank, who will step out for the first time since joining the care of Lauren Harris.
Previously trained in Mount Gambier by Jason Newman, the brindle dog has produced some really strong efforts so far, along with a couple of good performances at Angle Park.
The change of kennel for Ethanol Tank was brought upon after the owners asked Harris to train him for them.
It’s been three weeks since his last start at Mount Gambier where he ran fourth over the 600m distance, after not having a lot of luck. Since that run, he has had a quiet time and freshen up sorts, with Harris expecting him to improve off whatever he does Thursday.
“Tank has been here a couple weeks now, he’s had one trial. So I expect him to improve the more runs he has here.” said Harris
In what appears a suitable grade 6 assignment over the 530m trip on Thursday, Ethanol Tank looks poised to get a good run from a handy box two, where he should get room with a wide runner drawn outside. Harris is hopeful that he can use the good draw to land a good spot early.
“I’m happy with the inside draw. With his 600m form I know that he will have a powerful finish so hopefully he can find a nice position early.” said Harris
Racing will get underway at 6:40pm local time.
Best Bets:
Lochinvar Aloisi (Race 7, Number 7)
Aquila (Race 9, Number 2)