Straight Track stars tune up for Nationals - Murray Bridge Week in Review
Craig Jaensch Scores A Straight Track Double
Friday Meeting
It was a windy afternoon last Friday at Murray Bridge, but that didn’t seem to slow down the racing, with some good quality events held and quick times run consistently on the afternoon.
Ben Rawlings enjoyed a successful day at the track, collecting a training double. Mango Cans was the first and got the job done nicely as a red hot favourite. Wearing the pink rug over the 455m distance, the white and fawn dog sped out to an early lead and quickly put a margin on the field. Travelling strongly around the turn, he looked in no danger whatsoever and strolled home for an impressive 25.54 victory. Two races later it was the brother in Pet Detective, who put together a terrific performance when running a quick 22.25 over the 395m trip, which was the best of the day. After leaving the boxes well, he did have to push hard along the rail to hold the lead early, but was able to do that. He was always going to be near impossible to catch once he found the front and that proved to be the case as he waltzed away and destroyed the field, winning by a widening 6 lengths. A very pretty impressive pair of winners for Rawlings and the team!
Nicole Price also had a worthwhile trip to the Bridge, taking home a double too. Zipping Highland was the first of the pair, as he took out the 530m event of the afternoon. From box one in the small field, he jumped well before being outpaced as they went into the back straight. Despite this, he was given plenty of room to balance up in second and quickly set out for the lead again. Around the turn, he loomed large and very quickly went to the lead, putting a few lengths on the field. Typically very strong, he was going to be hard to catch in the straight and that proved the case, as he powered on to win in 30.23. Completing the double was Short Notice, who scored a deserving win over the 395m trip. From box six she stepped well and quickly worked to the front. It took a bit of work for her to get the head in the lead, but she did as they went into the turn. Despite getting dragged down from behind as the field turned, she was able to boot clear at the top of the straight and go on for a strong 22.73 victory.
Tuesday Meeting (Straight track)
On a ripping afternoon at the Murray Bridge Straight with glorious conditions welcoming participants, we were treated to some strong racing.
A clear highlight of the afternoon was the airborne Cameron Forshaw trained Cash On Delivery strutting his stuff over the 350m distance in a mixed 4/5 field. Boasting a sensational run of form having won four straight leading into the race and nearly breaking the Angle Park track record at his last start, he looked very hard to beat and that certainly proved the case. From box one, the short course star came out quickly and burnt to a clear lead. Halfway up he had the race completely shot and was flying along, maintaining a clear margin right the way through to the end. The end result was a dominant 19.39 victory by four lengths, making it career win 38 at start 57. A real treat to watch him on a Tuesday afternoon at the Bridge!
Craig Jaensch also had a good afternoon, training a winning double late on the card. The very experienced My Reason took out the fast class event over the 300m distance, with an explosive display of speed. Leaving from box seven, he showed his customary early speed and speared out to the front, setting up a small margin early. Racing against some quality animals, he wasn’t able to get a comfortable lead out in front, but was doing things well regardless. It was a relatively tight finish, but My Reason did things well right to the end and won in a best of the day 16.69. Streat Beast completed the card and the double for Craig, with a barnstorming effort over the same distance. Jumping from box two in an evenly matched field, he was crossed early and found some trouble, receiving a couple of bumps which seemingly put him out of the race. Despite this, he worked his way to the outside and set out on the leaders. With a stack of room to work with down the outside, he let rip with a huge midrace move and sailed straight to the front. He was never getting caught from that point and roared away to win impressively in 17.09. A great effort and a good day for Craig!