The Bridge Weekly Review
Another superb meeting at the Bridge last Friday, with a slight breeze around on a sunny day.
Race 1 saw the return of Hukanui Lady after a few weeks off. She started favourite and whilst she didn’t lead, did eventually win after working hard mid race in a really tidy 22.41. Race 2 saw the best boxed runner of the year in Zipping Slade, being drawn outside the maddest railer you will ever see in Nockatunga. Sure enough when the boxes rose, Nockatunga went straight to the rail and Zipping Slade got a dream run and sailed around to win in a flying 22.23 for trainer Rob Harnas. He has done a terrific job with these Zipping dogs that he purchased a few months ago. Race 3 saw some fascinating placement of dogs, we saw Dashing Mickey and Concede who are generally 500m+ dogs, strut their stuff over the 395m. Luckily for Concede he drew the red and was able to rail up underneath the leader to win in a 22.46. This was made more impressive with a 5.25 first section, which is slow, adding plenty of merit to the winning time. Race 4 was a field of 3 coming out of the 530m with Alfieri a strong favourite. Alfieri has been due for a win with his last 4 starts being seconds, and after swooping to the lead around the back straight he won in a very sharp 29.72.
Race 5 was our grade 6 final over the 455, and it certainly was an interesting race. Spy Master and Steal The Prize led the way around the turn and it looked like Steal The Prize was going to edge his way clear for a win, however he lost a bit of concentration which opened up the door for Incognito to win in 25.93, making it 2 wins in a row. Trainer Lauren Harris has got him going nicely. Silver Stone won the 6th in a super impressive 25.59 at his first look at the track, running down a heavily backed Max Hombre. In the 7th we saw a wayward Zipping Marshall run down Danyo’s Wylie in a super hot time of 25.36, one of the fastest times posted over the last couple of months. Race 8 was one of our stronger fields for the day and it was Canya Go Wild who took the winners prize home for trainer Paul Bodsworth. He does a very nice job with his small team and you can generally expect his dogs to run well.
Race 9 saw another big betting move with Cawbourne Boomer strongly backed all day, and whilst he only settled 4th in the run, he found a rails run to shoot up on the inside and walk away a winner. We saw a couple of older dogs go around for race 10, and Hot Zorro was able to claim another victory, holding off a fast finishing Chief’s Sidekick and Rusty Fury. Hot Zorro has now finished top 3 in 43 of his 63 starts. Race 11 was our weekly open grade over the 395 and it brought together a great field, with only 1 dog not being fancied in the market. This dog was Zagreb and he was the winner of the race! He jumped best with a neat first split of 5.07 and was good enough to hold off the strong field, winning in a good 22.44 and paying a casual $101! The last saw another big betting plunge with Hot Sambuca backed from $5 into $2. He flew out in a 4.99 first split and punters looked home and hosed, however Minnie Mac quickly got underneath him and it was a battle around the turn. Thankfully for punters Hot Sambuca fought hard to hang on for a narrow win, making it 4 winners for the Rasmussen team.
Dog to follow: Minnie Mac - The old girl is still racing so well and is busting for a win. She’s been up against tough dogs and is running very good at big odds. If she lands in a masters somewhere or a suitable grade 5, I think she will earn a much deserved win.
Racing next Friday (5/2/21)
Next weeks features inc
Grade 6 heats - 395m
Mixed - 455 (N/P)
Picture: Zagreb the 'Giant Killer' winning at $101 for trainer John Rees
Credit: Kurt Donsberg Photography