National Championships - State Finals
Another fantastic night of racing at headquarters last night where the State finals of the National Sprint and Distance were determined with the winners next week to represent South Australia in Queensland at the end of the month.
The Sprint heats were first with High Eden Frost for Jan Jones setting the tempo of the night with a brilliant performance in leading most of the way. Making full use of the inside box the son of Banjo Boy and Zardae was able to kick through and lead and run his rivals ragged in a slick 29.78 in winning by 3 lengths from Shimatron and Tommy’s Tune.
The challenge was then set for leading local sprinter On Fire to see what he could do in the second heat and he didn’t disappoint. The Cameron Butcher trained flyer began well from box 2 and settled third early before sprouting wings down the back straight and hitting the front, from there he also raced away to win in easy fashion. The son of Bekim Bale and Alana Blues won by just over 3 lengths in a sizzling 29.54 from Cairnlea Kenny and Aston Amon and firmly established himself again as the leading chance for SA.
The box draw has created even more interest with On Fire drawing the inside box. The last time he drew the red he was spat out the back in a 5 dog field and had to run a massive race to get over the line so the start will play a huge part in next week’s high quality final.
The box draw for the 2017 UBET National Sprint Championship State Final was conducted on track last night:
There were only 7 runners for the Distance heat with all starters progressing through to next weeks State final however it gave an indication on what we could expect. Purpose Driven for Cameron Butcher was very professional in his win running a solid 43.51 in winning by just over 3 lengths. The son of Bekim Bale and Alana Blues has been in super form and showed that he will be hard to beat next week and will hopefully be looking to join his brother, On Fire at the National Championships. However last night’s race favourite Bogie Bekim who was returning from a spell showed he will likely gain plenty of benefit from the run. The Group 1 winner for Ben Rawlings ran a solid second but never really changed gears throughout which is normally a feature of this brilliant stayer. Next week if he finds his customary dash and acceleration we are in for a thrilling final. Not to forget about Springvale Carla who made the step up to the open staying ranks with super run to grab third. Gavin Harris can always find a good stayer and it looks like he has found another one.
The box draw for the 2017 UBET National Distance Championship State Final was conducted on track last night:
Each winner of the State finals next week will represent South Australia at the UBET Group 1 National Championships to be run on Friday 25th August at Albion Park.