Rawlings with four, Rasmussen & Harris land three
A ripping 12 race card last Friday at the Bridge with the Country Cup heats the feature of the afternoon. Race 1 was a maiden for the 395m trip and Bourdain (Worm Burner x Ruby Creek) started favourite for his debut. Finniss Charm came out of the boxes very nicely in a 5.09 first split and led the field easily. The dogs behind her never got into it, leaving Finiss Charm to go all the way and break her maiden. Race 2 was a handy Juvenile race with a newbie to SA in Classy Redeemer starting an odds on favourite. It was a super even line away before Classy Redeemer got the fly and went on by! He went on and won impressively in 22.42. Lady Luck, a sister to the winner of race 2 was an even shorter favourite for her SA debut. This one wasn’t so easy for punters, with Lady Luck torching the start and finding herself midfield, with Cawbourne Big Al finding the top. Lady Luck showed plenty of class midrace to rail underneath the field and find the front, before putting them away in 22.65. Race 4 and big go for Zipping Walter, who was $7 in $3’s. Walter had to do it tough early from box 8, but put away the field pretty easily and scorched away. He went around in a blinding 5.06-22.02 which is one of the quicker runs we have seen in a while at the Bridge.
Photo: Finniss Charm breaks her maiden
Credit: Kurt Donsberg Photography
Race 5 was a crack open grade over the 395m with Aston Olenna, Aston Hayato and Terrific Keith all doing battle. Aston Olenna was able to lead with Hayato right behind him. As they came for home it was a ripping battle but Olenna got the job done and Dave Peckham got the quinella. The time of 22.49 says a bit about Zipping Walter the race before. Crawl started a heavily backed favourite in the sixth. Woodside Puma was the leader in the race. Crawl was following closely but checked off heels on the turn for home. Puma still led as they hit the straight but Crawl picked himself up and went on past, landing the plonk! A good training effort from Lauren Harris as he was 10 weeks into that run. Race 7 was a belter grade 6 over the 455m trip. In what was a strong race, early speed proved the difference with Victa Maggie finding the front and from there she never looked back! Maggie went all the way in 8.05-25.68 in what was a very deserved win. Another strong grade 5 for the eighth of the day and Undercut was an odds on favourite. Undercut didn’t lead but he did muster very quickly, before finding himself 3 lengths in front early in the race. He kept on going and got home in a strong 25.57. That made it 3 wins from his last 6 starts for the Fawn chaser.
Race 9 was the first heat of the Country Cup for the 530m trip and Steal The Prize just started favourite from the red. Sudden Force led from box 2 and set a quick tempo. Their was a bit of buffering around the turn, which allowed Sudden Force to hold a margin, before getting home in 29.98. A great win for the Force, after finding some very good form at Angle Park. Race 10 was the second heat and this was a bit trickier, with a lack of speed in the race. Aston Model was the early leader, but gave Barbados Express a cart over in the process. Aston Model led around the turn before Barbados pounced, whizzing past and putting the race to bed. She clocked 29.95 and landed a 4fa for Benny Rawlings. Race 11 was a very tricky grade 6 over the 395m journey. Those who played the map were rewarded with Jet Age getting the best possible run, to find the front before the turn. It was all over from there and he landed a pretty impressive 22.49 victory. Bella Sweet started an odds on favourite to send punters home in the last. It was a dead even line to the turn, with the favourite getting the squeeze and Daniel Sun getting the fly. It was a super ugly affair thereafter, with a lot of mixing in the race. In the end it was a super tight finish with Show Me Bucks finding the front at the right time to win in 23.08.
Dog to follow: Midnight Bandit - A very likeable run last Friday, he was only fairly away and had to show some real chase/smarts to push through a gap and get around a couple dogs as they hit the turn. He balanced up again and made ground in the straight, getting within a couple lengths of Victa Maggie. Suspect he comes back next week and he would have a great chance over the 455m trip.