Locals shine bright as field set for Anniversary Cup final.
Locals shine bright as field set for Anniversary Cup final.
The field for the 52nd running of the Anniversary Cup at Angle Park is set after three heats were run at headquarters last night with a strong field contesting the race which now boasts an elevated $50,000 prize pool.
Despite a strong interstate presence which included the likes of SA Derby and Phoenix winner Schillaci, recent Golden Easter Egg Heat winner Zali Keeping and Perth Cup finalist Buddy Monelli, it was SA’s local stars who stole the spotlight winning all three heats.
The first heat was taken out by the ever-reliable Ravers Army for Tim Alois who produced an eye-catching run from box seven.
With early speed drawn on the inside with recent Australian Cup Heat Winner American Queen in box one, local star Peaky Boo in box two and Schillaci in box three, there was a battle to the first turn with Stealth finding the lead with a 5.23 first split.
Peaky Boo shifted up the track slightly on the first turn forcing Schillaci wide which allowed Ravers Army to get through on the rail and find the lead around the turn. With Peaky Boo and Spanner shifting wide, NSW raider Tom Keeping rattled through but just missed with a late dive as Ravers Army held on winning by a head in 30.78.
It was career win number 27 at start number 63 for Ravers Army and continues his brilliant SA record for Tim Aloisi which saw Ravers Army earn a finalist nomination for the 2023 Greyhound of the Year.
Aloisi made it a double in the second heat with Kai Bale backing up his impressive win in the Mount Gambier Cup Consolation by taking out the second heat of the Anniversary Cup.
Kai Bale was slow away and was last at the post the first time but was able to get a nice run through on the rail and made swift progress and eventually worked past the early leader Minter Redeem.
Kai Bale showcased his power kicking away around the turn, winning by three and a half lengths in 30.32 which was an excellent run in his first look at Angle Park under race conditions.
Fantastic Spike for Liz Chegia ran on into second while Cindy Keeping for Charmaine Roberts finished in third.
The third heat was taken out by the Ben Rawlings trained Riot Rooster who continued his excellent run at Angle Park with a personal best performance.
From box two, Riot Rooster was away only fair but was able to rail through nicely around the first turn and find the lead.
While the chasing pack of Zali Keeping, Buddy Monelli and Dash Of Blue closing down the back, Riot Rooster found a kick and was able to win in 30.24 by two and a half lengths.
It was the fourth consecutive win for Riot Rooster who now has 13 wins from 15 starts over the Angle Park 530m journey and looks to be one of the key chances in next week’s final.
The box draw was conducted live on-course on Thursday and was as follows.
1. Buddy Monelli – Lyn Smith
2. Cindy Keeping – Charmaine Roberts
3. Tom Keeping – Charmaine Roberts
4. Zali Keeping – Charmaine Roberts
5. Ravers Army – Tim Aloisi
6. Riot Rooster- Ben Rawlings
7. Fantastic Spike – Liz Chegia
8. Kai Bale – Tim Aloisi.
9. Peaky Boo – Ben Rawlings (1st Res)
10. Dash Of Blue – Richard Pearce (2nd Res)
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There were several other impressive performances on the Angle Park card with Gavin Harris grabbing a training double.
With the SA Distance Championship final next week, 730m track record holder Lena Jinx fired a warning shot to her rivals with a brilliant 42.50 run on Thursday.
Starting as a short-priced favourite from box five, Lena Jinx was able to lead and was never troubled with a powerful front running performances which at one stage looked to have the track record in peril.
The other winner for Team Harris came in the maiden final where Zinfandel Trace backed up its impressive maiden win last week by going even quicker in the Thursday night final.
From box one, Zinfandel Trace produced the fastest first split in the race, finding the lead before opening up on her rivals with a 30.57 win by eight lengths over the littermate Zinfandel Lisa.
It was a brilliant performance from Zinfandel Trace who improved on her 30.64 maiden win last week by nearly a length and she appears to be a chaser with a bright future!
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Despite some afternoon rain in Adelaide, Angle Park produced a quick track and we saw several chasers produce personal bests.
In the masters, Supreme Sword for Tony Hinrichsen claimed its first win at Angle Park in 15 attempts with a brilliant 30.54 win from box four which was more than two tenths of a second quicker than his previous best.
Another promising youngster for the Lauren Harris kennel is Yoda Lady who grabbed career win number five at start number 15 with an eye-catching 30.52 win from box two to take out the mixed series final.