New Time Standard Set on Our First Thursday
A cool night greeted us for the first-ever Thursday night meeting at Murray Bridge last week.
Race 1 was a maiden and created plenty of intrigue with half the field having their first start. It was a pretty strong race on paper with those that had raced but the market had its eyes set on Occipital Eyes (Mepunga Blazer x Yanick Allen) which was having his first start. The black dog was very heavily backed, $7 into $3. Victa Maggie was able to lead for a very brief time before Occipital Eyes cruised on by and dropped the field, scorching around in 25.58 and scoring a 9 length win. It was certainly one of the most impressive maiden wins we have seen for a while and we will no doubt see plenty more of him. Race 2 was a juvenile over the 395m and we saw another super dominant performance. The local rocket Gemtree Maximus was well backed and started a hot favourite, off a couple indifferent runs at Gawler. When the lids opened he made it a total one act affair, running the hands off the clock in a flying 4.97-21.93, winning by 7 lengths.
Race 3 was a fairly even grade 6 over the 395m, however, the market did plenty, with Time Striker very strongly backed, starting at $1.50 from it’s $2 opening price. Bottled Fury jumped the best and led in a very good 5.02 early. Time Striker was able to work through and get underneath her, before hitting the lead. Time Striker was able to fall in with a very fast finishing In Trinity just behind. Punters certainly had their wallets full after race 3. The 4th was a decent 530m grade 6, and again we saw another big market mover in Meet Joe Black, who was backed from $3 into odds on. Another Storm led out of box 5, before Meet Joe Black railed up and took over down the back. It was an easy watch for punters from there as he won by 3 lengths in 29.94. Punters must have been thinking home loans after the fill up they had in the first four races.
We welcomed the recent Murray Bridge Cup champ in Air Marshall back to the Bridge to take on a strong grade 5 over the 395m. We were pretty confident either Ray Murray or Yvonne King would win the race as they had 7 of the 8 runners. The race changed shape early as Victa Caleb flew out in 4.93, before Air Marshall got behind him. Victa Caleb tested the hot favorite before Air Marshall got past him and landed a terrific 22.16 win. The 6th was a very even grade 6 over the 455m trip. The very talented Ransom’s Pride started favourite off his preferred box in 8. Frodo Baggins was the best away and led the field in a decent 8.09 early split. Unfortunately, the notoriously wide runner went off on the turn, getting in the way of Ransom’s Pride as well. This opened the door for Foresaken to buzz through and score another impressive win in 25.63. Race 7 was another 455m grade 6 and it brought together a very strong field. Zipping Bates and Plumber were both well supported off inside draws, with Plumber starting favourite. It was an even line out, before Zipping Bates and Plumber drew clear of the field. Plumber led around the turn however the stronger dog in Zipping Bates was able to level up and get past Plumber, landing a solid 25.65 win. Race 8 was a ripping grade 5 over the 455m, with the market not really sure where to look. The lid pinger Sudden Force was able to lead the field around the turn, however Woodside Zulu started to get mobile and through some really nice navigational skills, was able to weave a passage and get clear in the home straight, picking up the leader with ease and landing a 25.39 win.
Race 9 was our grade 5 final over the 455m trip. Jabari flew out of box 5 and went 7.99 early to lead the field. He put a gap on them however, All Show got very busy mid race before eventually catching Jabari. All Show railed up in the home straight and landed a 1 length win in a quick 25.44. Race 10 was essentially our open grade race and saw the local champ in Spring Vinnie start a hot favourite off his preferred box 8. The race was a one man show and Spring Vinnie led the entire trip, waltzing in for a sharp 25.26 victory. Race 11 was a history making one as the track held its first ever 680m race. It was a short run to the first turn and with a bit of jamming, Joe’s Gold was able to lead clearly from box 1. He led until they turned into the home straight before he ran off, which opened the door for Mai Tai Focus to hit the front. This was short-lived as Tapestry Tears came home with a wet sail and timed her run perfectly to score in an enthralling finish. The winning time was 39.84, I suspect the elite dogs will break 39 down the track but for now Tapestry Tears is a track record holder! The last was a rematch between Slick Riot and Danyo’s Wylie. The race went exactly the same as it went the last time they met, Danyo’s Wylie led and Slick Riot couldn’t catch him. Wylie went a terrific 4.96-22.02, which also says a lot about the time that Gemtree Maximus ran earlier in the night. A terrific night all up with a strong crowd on deck.
Dog to follow: Sandave Vision - She is only a young bitch with a couple of starts under her belt. She had her first ever look at the track Thursday and to be fair she was pretty steady. Her runs at Angle Park have been really good and she has a super turn of foot in her arsenal. I suspect she will be back for a grade 6 Thursday night and whilst they will be tough fields, I think she is certainly capable of winning again very shortly. She should improve immensely off that run last week and has a big future in my opinion.
We move to the weekly schedule now and are blessed to be racing three times a week at our great track. Thursday night this week will be our City A meeting which will most certainly bring together some terrific fields with quality dogs to do battle.
Monday night Best Bet - (Allinga Grin - Race 7, Box #1)
Gee I think this race sets up well for her. She has had plenty of runs in the Bridge Weekly and for good reason. She is a bitch that is really starting to put things together and becoming a very nice racer. The favourites for this race are in box 5 & 6 and I think they both have queries. Mootwingee in box 5 won well last week, but had box 1 and used it perfectly, she only ran an okay time though. Blister in box 6 is the class but we haven’t seen his best for a long time, he comes here off a month break with his last run over 600m, so you would be taking on a lot of trust backing him. Allinga Grin ran a cracker last week, flew out then copped a good bump from her outside and struggled to get into it after that, but still ran an alright time. Box 1 is why we are getting a price, she desperately wants to get to the outside but I am very confident she will ping out and get in front of the other dogs, with little speed in the race. If she leads then I will be very disappointed if she gets beat.
Wednesday (Straight track) Best Bet - (Time Wise - Race 4, Box #1)
This dog is very talented, he is first up for a month and I think the freshen up will have done him well. He would certainly be trialling well otherwise he wouldn’t be running and on ability he is simply better than these. The dog in box 2 has ok Victorian form but he would need a lift to beat Time Wise and in box 4 is Banjo Riley who would run in the carpark if he could. Time Wise should be getting a clear run and winning, hopefully he is backable odds.
Photo: Tapestry tears crossing the line in front to the claim the first ever 680m race at Murray Bridge.
Kurt Donsberg Photography