The Hoarse and Brie Light up Dash for Cash Heats
Defending Dash For Cash and Galaxy Champion Trojan Hoarse has yet to put a paw wrong in a very long time now as he once again exploded from the boxes delivering an effortless 17.39s in the opening heat on Friday night at Hatrick Raceway. It was kennel mate Bigtime Ziggy who provided early opposition before the Hoarse shifted gears winning by a little over five lengths. Life Is Good led the chasing pack for Melissa Olden five lengths in arrears and will take a reserve slot in this weeks $15,000 final at Group Two level.
Bigtime Pluto would start a warm favourite for the second heat from the ace draw, but it was kennel mate Giraffe Club who found the early lead from box three taking advantage of poor beginnings to his inside. His 17.64s victory was the slowest of the five heats but he will take his deserved place in the final. Criminal Justice closed to get within a length and will make the final by the slimmest of margins as Melissa Olden trained back to back placings.
Heat three proved to be the closest contest of the five heats with heavily favoured Buddy Boom going down by a neck to Big Time Fairy who made a sizzling beginning from box two. Her 17.47s run ensured both herself and Buddy Boom would take their place in the final. Big Time Jonie recaptured the box speed that saw him become one of the North Islands best sprinters in heat four as he held out Archie John Hill for the Fahey’s who also qualifies in a time of 17.40s.
Big Time Brie set the time standard with a jet-propelled 17.25s which placed her as the fastest qualifier quite comfortably. With only one 305m Hatrick sprint beforehand, Brie destroyed her rivals with 6.79s early split as Lisa Cole trained all five heat winners. Brie looks like she could definitely challenge Trojan Horse who looked near untouchable before the heats.
Emma Potts will be looking for her first Group One victory after a second in last year’s Wanganui Cup as Beret Girl was the first qualifier for the Spion Rose Final. A gritty rail hugging effort saw Beret Girl come underneath Dapper Rapper and hold onto victory from a fast-finishing He’s All Shine for Sam Lozell, who put in a solid run after previous sprinting assignments.
The Bigtime Izzy of old is returning to some consistent form of late, especially after her super all of the way 30.08s victory in the second heat. Box one had not generally been good to her in the past but a 4.99s early split was key in her victory and she could be very competitive in this week’s final with a suitable draw.
A poor run of box draws continued for Ozzie into the third heat, not ideal for a dog having his first look on the track. His class shone through though as he manoeuvred into a spot where he could strike late on the tearaway leader in Big Time Maple. Maple was ridiculous early with a 4.88s early split in a fresh state which eventually told late as Ozzie run her down in one of the best finishes overall heats.
Big Time Harley set the overall time standard across all heats with a very smart 29.92s. Harley lobbed into a handy spot behind Whanganui Cup winner, Big Time Lantao before railing underneath her down the back straight. Zipping Sheldon will take his place in the final as the fastest second and also broke the 30-second barrier as he got within a length of Harley at the finish.
Bigtime Cooper will take his place in another Group One final after winning the last heat from box 8 in a 30.31s. Cooper may not have been as explosive as his kennel mates but should still play a significant part in the final with his early speed. Lisa Cole took out three of the five heats of the Spion Rose and she will have another massive hand in both finals this Friday night.
By Shane Kendall
