Richards claims double in Gawler Produce heats
Friday
We saw an outstanding card of racing on Friday, with the highlight of the afternoon being the heats of the 2023 Gawler Produce series. The Produce is one of the feature events on the Gawler racing calendar and kicked off with three heats on Friday afternoon.
Tim Richards was the big winner, taking out two of the heats with his chasers.
Oh Louise started an equal favourite for the first heat and from box three she came out nicely. Heading into the first turn, she had to work hard to hold her place in second but was able to do that. Her best work was down the back straight and before they turned for home, she had hit the front, before running away late for an excellent 30.67 victory.
Coorong Cam looked a certainty in heat two from the perfect box one draw. After being crossed early, he was able to do some navigation and get himself to the lead down the back, before strolling home for a comfortable 30.78 win. These two are going to be hard to beat if they get through to the final in two weeks time!
Boom Boom Jinx for Gavin Harris prevented a Tim Richards sweep in the final heat, producing an upset to defeat Silk Sonic and the high-fancied Ben Rawlings-runner Could Be King.
Boom Boom Jinx finished strongly in the home straight, powering past Silk Sonic to win in a time of 30.75.
Dash Of Blue returned to Gawler following his Shane McQueen win the week prior at Angle Park and he found himself in a strong 643m race. Despite a slightly awkward box seven draw, he started favourite for the race. He jumped well but was doing some work early as he went into the first turn three deep. The extra work didn’t deter the blue dog, as he kept powering on down the outside, before getting to the lead up the back straight. Once in front, he was never going to be caught as he got home for a brilliant 37.25 victory.
Cash On Delivery started the hottest favourite in Australia in his 400m event, with his eyes firmly set on trying to break the Gawler track record. The result was obvious once he stepped as good as he normally did and it was a race against the clock down the back straight. Coming around the home turn, he looked terrific in full flight and when he eventually stopped the clock, the time was a sizzling 22.29, which unfortunately for his trainers Cameron Forshaw and Ashlee Griffiths, just fell short of the track record. Despite not breaking the record, he made it six straight wins and with his third birthday not until November, he has an awfully exciting period of racing ahead.
Wednesday
The Vadim Roz trained Yarramundi Coco started off the Wednesday program, breaking through for her maiden victory. Having had two starts previously, she hadn’t shown much which was mainly due to a lot of poor luck, but her luck looked set to change when she worked to any early lead on Wednesday, from box four.
A bit of luck on the first turn saw her scoot away for a monster midrace lead, with the race all but over from there. She never looked in any danger and won by a sensational nine lengths, winning in 23.41.
The standout performance of the day came from the Michael Stewart trained Go Go Snow, who set the track alight with a flying best of the day run over the 400m trip.
From box six, she flew out to lead the field easily, running a fast 8.54 first split. Out in front, she just worked through her gears and put a space on the rest of the field as they went into the home turn. The end margin was six lengths and the time was a red hot 22.57!