Steven Brook goes bang to start 2022 at the Bridge
The past week at the Bridge…
Tuesday (Straight Track)
The last meeting of the year the Bridge produced a sweet 10 race card, with some nice types going around.
The 1-2 win grade 6, brought together a handy field with Mo Slater and Union City Blue battling it out in the market off the back of some sharp maiden victories. Mo Slater led up from box 1 but Union City Blue showed a terrific turn of foot mid race to take over before hanging on in very tidy 16.81. I think he has a nice future.
The race of the day on paper was clearly the grade 5 over the 350m trip with a very strong field of 8 assembled, which saw Sevilla, Dash Home and Woodside Zulu starting favorites. It was relatively clean getaway from all, apart from Woodside Zulu who got flattened out of boxes. As they got closer to the finish however, it got a bit tight and jammed up, which is when Woodside Zulu made his move and pounced, clocking a really good 19.56 win. He has returned in really good order this dog and it will be interesting to see where he goes next.
Bec Romyn was the only trainer to land multiple winners for the day. A well backed Naughty Miss won the first with a very professional debut effort. She jumped with a 4.38 first split before railing hard and cruising home in 16.92. Hovey’s Bourbon won the fifth with a quick 16.72 to defeat a couple of handy ones.
Man Absconded was easily the quickest of the day with his electric 16.41 effort over the short trip, whilst the improving Razzle Dazzle was dominant over the 350m trip, clocking 19.42.
An all round good finish to the year of racing at the Straight!
Dog to follow: Namida - Joined Ozzie Chegia’s kennel back in September for a crack at the Adelaide Cup where he ran okay but had not raced since then before returning on Tuesday. Their wasn’t a lot of support in the market for his return but I thought his effort was pretty good. He used box 8 well before finding the front, which is when he got a little lost which cost him a couple of lengths, before finishing a length off Woodside Zulu. Clearly he’s come back in good order and I would suggest he will be winning very shortly.
Sunday (1-Turn)
We had a really good 12 race card to kick off the year of racing at the Bridge, with a couple of races in particular that sparked plenty of interest.
The first of these was a cracking 3/4/5 grade over the 395m trip which had our best sprinters in the state engaged for it. Man Absconded and Patched fought out favoritism and it was no surprise to see the race won by an electric performance. That came from Patched, who had box 8 and boy did he use it well. He flew out of the lids before crossing over and sailing home to lead all the way in a ridiculous 4.90-22.09, on a track that certainly wasn’t quick. He has been unbelievable since joining the state and it’s probably fair to see he is our premier sprinter right now.
The race of the night followed, with as tough a grade 4/5 over the 455m trip as you will see at the Bridge. Hot in the market included, Enthusiastic, Jack’s Well, Gemtree Maximus and Fantastic Radley. Fair to say the punter’s were treated to a spectacle, with a fantastic finish to the race. Enthusiastic used box 1 perfectly to rail through and find the lead before the turn, and he looked home from there. That was until a breathtaking run home from Fantastic Radley saw him nail Enthusiastic on the line 25.66, signifying a sensational return to racing.
Steven Brook has been coming down to the Bridge a little bit in recent times and on Sunday he had a deadset fill up, bringing four dogs to the track and driving home with 3 winners! Fabian’s Gold was his first as he was able to run down Finniss Flash, which is not easy, before Enjoy Yourself won at a huge price in the next race, getting the start right and going all the way in 22.62 over the short trip. It was a long wait until the last race for Brooky, although I’m sure enjoyable! Which is when My Villanelle made it a 3fa, using box 8 well to claim the last.
Photo: My Villanelle winning the last of the night on Sunday
Credit: Kurt Donsberg Photography
A terrific start to the year of racing at the Bridge.
Dog to follow: Fantastic Radley - It’s hard to give it the justice it deserves, but this win was just so good. Radley injured his shoulder quite badly and as a result has had a few months off, so naturally a returning point for him was an unsuitable 455m run. Given the field he drew, you would have quite happily written him off. Radley was able to land a bit closer in the run but the dog he was chasing in Enthusiastic is a torpedo in his own right. Radley copped a couple of bumps at bad times turning for home, but for him to pick himself up and still nail Enthusiastic was just brilliant. A wonderful effort from both dog and trainer! Radley will be mighty hard to beat wherever he goes next.