The Bridge Weekly
Another ripping day at the Bridge greeted us for 11 quality races.
The market said race 1 was a match race between Allinga Frost and Gemtree Apollo and it certainly went that way, Allinga Frost led in a flying 5.01 early split before Gemtree took over on the turn, however it was Allinga Frost who was able to fight back and landed a gritty win in 22.73, first up for a few months. Race 2 saw the best backed runner all day and potentially all week. Spring Lilac for Greg Board was $6 into odds on. Whilst she only landed third in the run, she railed up underneath the 2 leaders to land a very comfortable 22.40 win. I’m tipping their were some happy punters friday. Race 3 was opened right up with the late scratching of the dominant favourite. Aston Lennon led the field up however got very wide on the home turn and Cawbourne Reidy was able to work around him to land a very impressive win. Whilst the time wasn’t much, he covered a lot of ground in the run. In race 4 we got to see the super exciting Gemtree Maximus for trainer Paul Rehmann, and whilst he looked like a good thing on paper from the 8 box, he still had to come out and win. Any doubts were immediately put to bed when he rolled out a 4.97-21.94 run which is just off the charts. A massive future for this dog and he would be my tip for the SA launching pad in a couple of weeks if he goes this way or maybe he goes down a Murray Bridge cup path?
Race 5 was interesting on paper, the favoured runners had all drawn inside boxes, however Nockatunga had drawn box 5. Sure enough when the boxes opened, Nockatunga jumped to the fence and caused a bit of interference for the favourites, which allowed Gold Burner to zoom around and hit the front, holding on to win by a narrow margin. Race 6 was our open grade 395 and we had a $41 pop take this out in Allinga Tianna. Whilst it was a quality field, it didn’t bother her as she jumped to the front in a rocketing 4.95 early split which put the race away. Race 7 was a very strong 455m race and it was Zipping Slade who was able to work around the field to land a very nice 25.72 victory. In race 8 we saw another well backed dog which was Tippa for the Dave Peckham camp, he jumped $3.20 after opening $7 the night before. Whilst he only jumped with the field, he was able to push around and find the front, landing a quick 25.57 win. It certainly would have made the drive back to Mt Gambier a bit nicer for Dave and his team.
Race 9 was a dominant affair with Justice For All making it a one dog race, jumping straight to the front and giving nothing else a chance, winning in a quick 22.18. Race 10 saw Jervois Bruit, which is arguably the best box dog in the country, jump in a 4.89 first split and he eventually hung on to win by a neck to his kennel mate Almighty Stripe. If Jervois Bruit can go 4.89, then it puts into context some of the early splits we saw during this meeting, I actually don’t think they could go faster early than Jervois Bruit. This race also landed a quinella for Timmy Richards and a treble for the meeting which is a ripping effort, given he doesn’t have as many dogs as others. Timmy’s kennel is on a hot streak at the moment and you can happily follow him with confidence. The last was taken out by Dr. Puma who was first up for a while, he’s a dog with a bit of ability and showed it with a very sound 5.02-22.49 win.
Dog to follow: Allinga Grin - A little bit left field this week, she’s still a maiden and her career record isn’t flash, however I think she is starting to find a little bit. A slow improver, but she did reel off a 4.99 early split and got caught wide, yet only went down by 3.75 lengths to Spring Lilac, who clearly has a bit of ability off it’s market support and run. She is a reserve on Tuesday up the straight, but I would prefer to see her around the circle next friday.
Racing next Friday (19/2/21)
Grade 6 heats - 455m
NP - 530m
Juvenile - 395m
Tuesday Preview
11 races this week up the straight, with terrific conditions expected. We have a hot 300m grade 6 final with all dogs a chance. The return of a couple interestings chasers, Super Blu will be first up in a few months for Brenton Prouse, who had a ripping run with his kennel late last year. He’s drawn the red but in a tough field so it will be interesting to see him go around. Bangor Sophia and Bangor Lizzy also make a return to SA after a stint in Victoria. They are now under the guidance of Bec Romyn who has been doing a terrific job with her kennel lately.
Best Bet
(Race 5, Box #1 - Forte Nero) - Was a bit plain last week in his return I thought however that was his first time up the straight. He was only 2 lengths off Buckingham who is a nice type. This race isn’t strong and I like him up to 350m. Weblec Bow who is drawn outside of him will get wide, so Forte will have every possible.
Picture: Gemtree Maximus rockets around in a BOD 21.94 over the 395m
Credit Kurt Donsberg Photography