Storm Shelter Breaks Through At Start Twenty Two!
Tuesday (Straight Track)
On what was an average day weather wise last Tuesday at Murray Bridge, we saw a mix of our best straight track dogs, whilst we also saw three maidens on the card.
One of the maidens to break through was Dark Patch (Feral Franky x Dream A Little), trained by Adam Manton. The black bitch had shown little in her previous starts, however she had been improving quite significantly which is what you want to see from the young ones. From box four on Tuesday, she jumped fairly and found herself a few lengths of the leader. She made a midrace move and went to the inside rail, which proved a race winning move as she was able to get herself in front and win by a small margin in a handy 17.17. Adam does a seriously good job with his dogs, no matter what sort of ability they have. Hopefully Dark Patch can keep improving with every start.
In the next race we got to see another greyhound break their duck, with Storm Shelter (Zinzan Brooke x Shotgun Doll) getting the job done from box one. When the lids opened, he came out fairly, but was left alone with plenty of room to move. With Kahlua And Soda in front and seemingly going well, Storm Shelter was able to just keep grinding along the rail, before finally getting the better of Kahlua And Soda, winning by a couple of lengths in 17.04, which given the slow start is a solid time. It was start 22 for Storm Shelter, so it has been a great show of patience from his trainer Sindy Colpoys. Further to that, he is the only dog that Sindy has racing at the moment and not only that, Sindy is located in Coleraine, just a lousy 4 hours from Murray Bridge. A great effort and a well deserved victory!
Yvonne King has got her kennel ticking over nicely at the moment, and she picked up another couple of winners on Tuesday. Allinga Lily was in over the 300m trip and drew a sticky box seven. She came out perfectly from the boxes, but lacked the speed to find a clear lead, with Aston Bullet keeping her out wide. Aston Bullet found the front and looked all over a winner, but the experience and desire from Allinga Lily saw her fight back and get the head in front on the line in what was a really good victory. The youthful Allinga Molly then took out the last in what was a classy show from the black bitch. It was a depleted four dog field over the short trip, but with what she showed, it wouldn’t have made a difference if it was a full field. From box two, she stepped well and was able to find a heap of clear air. She put a margin on the others mid race and never looked in any trouble, going all the way in a slick 16.73, particularly for a grade 6.
Dog to follow:
Celtic Lore - She’s no superstar, having just won the 2 races from 21 goes, but her last couple of runs have been improved ones, particularly the run on Tuesday. She was given little chance in the market, but ran quite well. She jumped sharply from box two, but was tapped from behind after 50m and found herself tangling with a couple of the other runners. Despite this, she kept going and was only beaten by a nose in a handy time, considering the interference. I would be following her because if she keeps jumping like that then she will pinch a race shortly.
Friday (1-Turn)
We had a cracking card of racing on Friday, with 12 different trainers picking up a winner and plenty of good dogs going around.
Clearly the most impressive run of the day came from the weapon that is Mallee Magic, who stepped out over the 530m trip. An unusual place to see him, but given the inability to find a race at Angle Park, here he was going around the one turn. He jumped well from box five but had to work a bit to get around Two Hands George early. From there it looked like a procession, however Midnight Blast gave a real sight before the turn, taking ground off Mallee Magic and looking a serious chance. He got within a length but that’s where it stayed, as Mallee Magic was just a bit too good, winning in 29.76. Midnight Blast was brilliant in behind him too, so you can keep following him.
He’s Our Design is absolutely flying for Sharyn Gray, with the white and black dog making it four wins in a row on Friday. After showing his speed and strength the week prior to win over the 530m journey, he dropped back to the 395m trip on Friday but that didn’t slow him down at all. From box one, he wasn’t the best away and was led early, but showing his experience and smarts, he stayed on the fence and waited for the run. The gap opened in the straight and he pounced, quickly putting the field away and winning in a slick 22.29. I am not sure where he goes next, but he’s in brilliant form and will match it with anything at the moment.
Mr. Ticket found himself back on the winners list Friday, using box eight to perfection to take out the fast class race. After a luckless first up run in the Gawler Sprint Classic the week prior, he was again in a bit of trouble when he only jumped fairly and was stuck wide. A bit of experience shone through however, as he stayed out of traffic before burning to the lead as they hit the turn. It was race over from there as he cruised away, winning comfortably in a best of day 22.28. He’s now eligible for masters grade which you would think he will enjoy!
Dog to follow:
Midnight Blast - Hard not to be taken with his run behind Mallee Magic, who is arguably the quickest dog we have in South Australia. Gave him a real scare for the last half of the race, going down narrowly but running a quick time himself as well. Wherever he goes next he will be running well.