Lester Harris gets a Wednesday double
Wednesday
It was fantastic to see Lester Harris have a good day at Gawler on Wednesday, with a double on the 12 race card. He took out the maiden with Roger Rose (Cosmic Chief x Rose Rose), who has improved in each of his three starts since arriving in South Australia. He jumped nicely from box four, but had to work around Escape Dream who had also jumped well from box one. Up the back, Roger Rose had gained a margin and was traveling well. He never looked troubled in the end as he won by 2 lengths in a handy 23.30. Lester’s next winner was Christopher Rose, who broke through for his first victory since February! He was last away from box eight, but showed some racing smarts as he dropped down to the rail and made a mid race move. Turning for home their was only one dog left to catch and Christopher Rose did that with ease, peeling to the outside and running by before stopping the clock at 23.22. A great win for Christopher Rose and a terrific day for Lester.
It’s not every day you go from running fifth in a National final at Wentworth Park, to running at a Gawler Provincial 2 meeting, but here was Fly For Trix doing just that. He drew box eight in what was actually a handy field, but class proved telling as Fly For Trix just blew them apart. He jumped terrifically with a 5.21 first split, before putting 5 lengths on the others up the back. The margin continued to grow as the race went on, with the demolition job finally ending as Fly For Trix clocked a sizzling 30.54, winning by a measly 11 lengths! I’m not sure what Jane is planning to do with this wonderful chaser, but the way he is going, I think he could give the Masters Meteor a huge shake at Wentworth Park in a couple of weeks. The win on Wednesday took his career record to 33 wins from 70 starts - he’s been a brilliant dog!
Tony Fry picked up a winner on the program as well, with Coco Can winning with a bit of arrogance at her third start in South Australia. She was an eye catcher the week prior and on Wednesday from a low draw, she was able to show what she can do. She jumped poorly, but with some midrace smarts and a will to barge to the front, she found herself in the lead and looking good. She cleared away late and whilst the time wasn’t quick, she did lose a few lengths in the run. It was a terrific win and I think Tony might have found himself a handy one.
Friday
We saw some very impressive performances at Gawler for the Friday meetings, with winners spread amongst many.
We had two heats of a grade 6 series over the 531m trip, with both heats going the way of the training duo of Tony & Karryn Nobes. The first heat was taken out by Cobalt Missile, who has recently shown that he can handle 600m racing, but on Friday showed he is still quite capable over the 500m trip. He settled second early from a favourable box one draw and was all over the leader the entire trip. Hitting the home straight, he peeled wide and went past, winning in 31.24. The second heat went to Spring High Low, who has certainly been racing without luck recently. Spring High Low jumped well on Friday and with that she found herself sitting in second with clear air early. The strong bitch took over mid race and gapped the others, winning by 5 lengths in a solid 31.12. Well done to Tony and Karryn, the final should be a good one next week!
Colden Dayto has been airborne in recent times and that was on show Friday, with the black and white dog lighting up the clock on his way to a dominant victory. He was coming out of box three and when the lids opened he only left fairly, really having to muster hard to get himself to the front. He was able to do that and once he did it was race over. His mid race turn of foot was brilliant and it allowed him to gain a race winning break. He was strong through the line and stopped the clock at a red hot 22.56. Cheryl Herman is doing a really good job with him at the moment.
It was great to see Aston Carlos back winning over 500m. Matthew Payne has taken his time to work Aston Carlos back up over the trip and it was in fact the first he has been over 500m since February. He jumped from box six, however he was last to leave. His turn of foot and field smarts allowed him to land second up the back and look quite dangerous up the back. Turning for home he took over and then held off a couple of fast finishers, winning in a solid 31.08. Well done to both Matty and Carlos on a great win!
