Team Allinga hit some good form
Tuesday (Straight Track)
Ben Rawlings made another venture down to the straight track on Tuesday and it certainly paid off, picking up three winners. Garry’s Chaos was the first and he continued his good form, taking out the grade 6 final over the 350m trip. After winning his heat last week, it was almost a replica performance as he clocked in 19.42 in the final. It is surprisingly rare to see dogs take out the heat and final of a series so he has done quite well. Agent Eleven was a big run in taking out her race over the 300m trip. She was stuck in a bumping duel for a large proportion of the race, but kept chasing hard and eventually worked her way to the front, winning in 17.10. Cut The Line made it three, making the most of a clear run to win from box two over the short trip in 16.85.
It was a good day to be a ‘Zing Zang’ as both maidens were taken out by dogs with the prefix. Zing Zang Oscar was the first and he is trained by Pete Smith. It was quite a run from the black dog who came out from box five. He left the boxes well but was quickly jammed up and looked quite green in between dogs, he then went to the fence and found more trouble, but still kept going before winning in 17.25, which was a good time considering the trouble he found. Zing Zang Paris was next. Trained by Simon Gesler, she was able to deal with plenty of pressure in box one, before getting the head down at the right time on the line. Well done to both trainers and Colin Brennan who owns the pair.
The Johnstone team of Kathy and Darrell have certainly made the straight track their home and it showed on Tuesday with three winners between them. Remember The Prince started the day off for them with a good win over the short trip. He was a huge price but it certainly didn’t show. He came out from box three and was able to prove too tough in the run, creating a clear passage for himself and winning in a thriller. Just Buffy won by a head over the 350m trip, with the four dog field all finishing within a length of each other! Lagoon Dark Eyes then made the most of box one in the last, grinding away and hanging on, again winning by a head. Three winners for Kathy and Darrell, with a combined winning margin of a length - it’s a game of small margins!
Dog to follow: Agent Eleven - was taken with the run on Tuesday. Had no luck the entire trip and was still good enough to win in handy enough time. If we can see her draw low with a suitable map, it will be good to see what she can run.
Friday (1-Turn)
Yvonne King continued her good run that she is having with another double on Friday. Allinga Molly made it a perfect start to her career, winning the maiden final from box eight which takes her to two wins from as many starts. It was a handy field for the final, but the early pace from Allinga Molly proved telling, as she was able to scoot around to the lead before proving too quick, winning in 22.74. Allinga Chloe returned to the winners list, producing a very slick effort to overcome box six. She came out of the boxes on roller skates and never stopped, running a quick 5.02-22.34. Hopefully Yvonne can continue her good run!
Tim Richards had a monster day on Friday, both at Murray Bridge and at Wentworth Park where He’s On Fire qualified for the MDC final. At Murray Bridge he picked up two of his own winners. Coorong Cam on debut was well backed in the maiden for Tim and from box four he was able to show why. He was very slow away but showed plenty of smarts and ability to muster through the field and get to the lead around the turn. It was race over from there as he ran away in 22.90. She’s Driven then won race four, again from box four. She was just too quick early, leading with a 5.07 first split before getting some luck behind. She ran away for a 3 length victory. I am sure Tim will have quite an exciting week ahead!
It was good to see Steven Coates train a winner with Resurgence creating quite the upset over the 530m trip. He had been going well at Angle Park but struggling to find any luck, so some smart placement from Steven led him to the one turn circuit. He came out well from box two but it was his effort to hold the outside challengers at bay, by mustering hard that was eye-catching. He eventually found a clear lead and won impressively in 30.13!
Dog to follow: Willow - Saves his best for the one turn circuit and his effort on Friday was big, despite finding a stack of trouble. His run was almost halted hitting the turn, but he was good enough to make a heap of ground late. Hopefully we can see him line up again over the short trip next week.