Young stars on show in Classic Prelude Heats
Classic Prelude Heats Take Centre Stage At Angle Park
With the Adelaide Cup series now run and won at Angle Park, attention starts to turn to the Brian Johnstone series, with the group 3 event only a few weeks away.
One of the key lead up races for that event is the Classic Prelude, which is open to South Australian bred chasers born between July and December 21’ and for those that paid up for the age restricted races.
Thursday night will see two heats of the Classic Prelude with a final to be held next week.
In the first heat, South Australia Derby finalist Who Knows Darren will be hard to beat from box one, following an impressive 30.80 victory on Adelaide Cup night. His main dangers will likely be the pacey Bad Guy Boris and the strong Finniss Ignite.
The second heat looks quite strong with South Australian Derby reserve in Buzz The Hustler set to take some beating from the inside draw. His main dangers will be Magical Mystic, Mellow Mead and Speeding Turtle.
Mellow Mead has continued to improve with racing with the Jane Mcnicholl trained chaser stepping out over the 530m distance for the first time last start, when running a good race at Gawler after not being able to lead initially.
“I was very pleased with her run at Gawler because she began well and coursed a little bit wide and got a little bit lost, but finished on quite well, so I was very pleased.” Mcnicholl said.
Mellow Mead showed her promise early days with a sharp 22.83 victory at Gawler but was struggling to put it all together consistently in her first few starts. Her last few starts have been good and she is consistently showing her early pace, whilst also showing some strength in her last run at Gawler, which Mcnicholl puts down to some physical growth.
“I think physically she’s developed more muscle tone and her stamina is improving and mentally she’s becoming a little bit more focused, so I am very pleased with the way she is progressing.” Mcnicholl said.
Whilst it is a strong field on Thursday, Mcnicholl is hoping that Mellow Mead can get around the track well and run a nice race, with the race being a good starting point for the Brian Johnstone.
“She’s had a trial there (Angle Park), she went ok, she got a little bit lost on the track, that was the reason we took her down there, just to familiarise herself there. She went box to box and went okay, not spectacular but she went okay.” Mcnicholl said.
“I am hoping she can begin well because she’s only a 25 and a half kilo bitch, so when they are that size they really need to jump to the front otherwise they can’t hold their own when they’re in the ruck with a bunch of other dogs, so I am hoping she can begin well and handle the track, I will be very happy if she goes around and runs a place.
Away from the Classic Preludes, the night will see an intriguing maiden/grade 6 field run over the 595m trip, a small but select FFA field over the 530m distance and a terrific staying race, following on last week's Premier’s Cup.
Racing will start at 6:40pm local time.
Best Bet: Agent Nine Nine (Race 9, Number 6)
Value Bet: Allinga Molly (Race 12, Number 1)