Peckham scores three whilst Cup contenders impress
The past week at the Bridge…
Tuesday (Straight Track)
10 races up the straight on Tuesday, with the Bec Romyn trained, Aeroplane Kaos taking out the maiden final to start the day. After racing greenly and getting beaten last week, it was a case of improvement which saw the black chaser defeating the reopposing hounds. Aeroplane Kaos stepped poorly again and only went 4.70 early, but showed his superiority by navigating a path to pass those in front, before winning with a nice 17.23 run.
Jason Dolan produced Colden Express for the first time since December, and he ran into a handy field first up. The time off seemed to do wonders for him, as he stepped really well, before getting a little weary late and just hanging on in a sharp 16.86.
Graham Smith has been having a solid run of it lately and he enjoyed another successful day at the Bridge, with a double from My Place Friday and Seymour’s Ando. Box 1 was always going to bring My Place Friday into the mix and he used it perfectly to defeat the grade 5 field over the 300m trip. Graham didn’t have to wait long for Seymour’s Ando to produce a monster BOD effort, beating a hot field which included Gemtree Maximus and Meet Joe Black. He can generally be hit and miss early, but Seymour’s Ando flew out in a flying 4.36 first split, before roaring up the straight in a hot 16.65.
Dog to follow: Brindle Martini - Been good in his three runs since returning from a lengthy break, and the run on Tuesday was a complete forget run. He wanted to get wide and from box 2, he just got into a bumping dual for the first 100m. Drops back to the 300m trip this Tuesday and has found the right draw/field. Think he will have a good chance in that.
Sunday (1-Turn)
We were treated to a cracking 12 race card, before next week’s Cup heats. Midnight Bandit returned to the winners list for Dave Peckham in the first of the night. He’s had a few unlucky runs in recent times, but when Midnight Bandit drew the inside of a four dog field, he was always going to take some beating. He won stylishly with a confidence boosting 30.17 effort.
Springvale Maddi had another tune up run before the Cup heats next week, and when she drew box 1 with Crush Your Enemy outside, it was her race to lose. She stepped excellently and despite a midrace challenge, proved too good and won nicely in 25.62. The talented He’s All Purpose also returned to the Bridge in preparation for the heats and won with real arrogance, defeating a good field. He had to work hard to get around Rosie Red, but did so very well, before scoring in 25.53
The 2/3/4 grade race for the night over the 455m was an absolute ripper, with many of the field likely to line up in the heats next week. Harbor Blues returned after a let up, but drew well in box 1. It was a good go early with Gemtree Maximus leading initially, however Harbor Blues chased like a demon to rail under and hit the front. He was able to grip on in a great finish, with Danyo’s Charlie finishing like a train behind him. Harbor Blues is only being sparingly raced at the moment, but everytime he turns up to race, he’s at his peak which is a real credit to his trainer Kirin Corby.
After taking out the first of the night, Dave Peckham put another two winners on the board, making it a treble for the Mount Gambier local. Midnight Blast won the fourth of the night with a dynamic effort from box 1, before Out Of Gas ran an absolute cracker to run down Man Absconded over the 395m trip. Dave racks up the kilometers traveling around South Australia to run his dogs, so whenever he has a few winners it’s always well deserved.
Photo: Dave Peckham with Midnight Blast
Credit: Kurt Donsberg Photography
Dog to follow: Sir Benjamin - Terrific return on Sunday night, dead heating for first in a strong grade 6. He’s a dog that’s certainly been learning during his racing at Angle Park, but his return run was a sign that he has matured a bit. Not often does Springvale Nikki get run down, so when she was clearly in front in the straight, it looked race over, but the way Sir Benjamin ran home was enormous. Sir Benjamin showed plenty of navigational skills mid race as well, which was a good sign for a young dog. Suspect he might be going back to Angle Park now, for a crack at the SA Launching Pad.