Top Model Returns From A Spell In Elegant Fashion
Wednesday
Wednesday’s card at Gawler turned out to be quite a good one with a few impressive performances from a number of chasers.
Drive The Jack (Shima Shine x Ritzy Chicki) was having his second career start for Lester Harris, after a handy debut fourth. He drew beautifully in box one for the 400m maiden event and when the boxes opened, he made the most of it, coming out quickly and leading the field easily. Once in front he travelled beautifully and never looked like getting caught, as he ran away for a dominant 23.32 victory.
Top Model is a chaser that has always possessed a lot of ability, but has struggled to show it consistently, however on Wednesday we saw the best of her, as she returned from a short spell in fantastic order. She drew well with box one for the 400m race and with that she stepped a lot better than she had been prior to the spell, allowing herself to find an early lead. Having been over the middle distances previously, she was always going to be strong and hard to run down and that proved to be true, with the black bitch going on to win by a widening five lengths in 22.87. It’s rather promising given she was first up for six weeks and now maybe she might show what she can do more often.
Gus The Bus has now had two starts for two wins since arriving in the care of Damian Bates, after a quick win on Wednesday. He won well enough last week when first up, but showed a lot of improvement to win quite dominantly for Wednesday’s effort. He had box two over the short trip and had to work hard to hold his spot on the rail as they went into the first turn. Once he got to the front, he went through his gears quickly, creating a big lead, before running away in 22.74. Clearly he has a bit of ability and if he keeps improving then who knows where he gets to.
Sunday
Nicole Price had a good start to the quality Sunday program, taking out the first two races of the night. Cruisin’ (Worm Burner x Precious Miracle) made an encouraging debut last week and made his way back for another crack at breaking the maiden on Sunday. A kind draw in box two gave him a good hope and when he sprung out of boxes with zest to find a clear lead, he was looking quite good. He led clearly into the straight and despite a closing chaser behind, he held on and won in a quick 23.05. The next to go was Not To Precious (Worm Burner x Precious Miracle) who of course is a littermate to Cruisin’ and she made her debut from box seven over the short trip, but wasn’t given much hope in the market. The 27kg bitch came out fairly before showing some good muster and courage to work her way into a close third. She stuck on well mid race with the leader going well, but as they came around the turn she started to close in nicely. With some smarts, she pulled to the outside and hit the front, winning in 23.47. A good effort from the homebed duo!
Ninetymile Bull has been really good since arriving in the care of Gino Grgurovic after starting his career in the Rockhampton region and on Sunday he landed another deserving victory off the back of some consistent form. He had box one to contend with over the short trip, which wasn’t ideal given he likes room to move, but despite this he found plenty of market support and started close to favourite by time they jumped. A flying start from the brindle dog saw him land in front which his backers would have been thrilled with. He led by a length as they went around the home turn with a strong challenger behind, but the big 39kg boy just kept finding and stuck it out for a terrific 23.01 victory. Gino is doing a really nice job with this boy and if he keeps those box manners then he will be winning a few more!
Rosa Panagiotou has struck up a good connection with his chaser Chicks Love Me since the dog joined his care earlier last year and his consistent form was rewarded with a victory from box six over the 400m start. After finding himself in some strong races recently, he found himself in a slightly easier grade 5 on Sunday, with the wide draw working out well in the end. When the boxes opened, Chicks Love Me came out humming and led the field with a sizzling 8.66 first split, which allowed him to set up a two length lead up the back. He was never getting caught from there, as he was just too quick, running away for a best of night in 22.78.
Another great week at Gawler with racing to continue this Wednesday afternoon.