Push It will be hot favourite to win next Saturday night’s Group 1 Rapidvite Peter Mosman Classic final but only for her quick thinking trainer DEAN Swain her semi-final could have been a "no race".
In the second semi-final ZIPPING Delta and Smashing Sally fell at the first turn, with ZIPPING Delta sustaining a career ending injury and Smashing Sally running back towards the 520m starting boxes.
Push It (pictured) was approaching the home bend with an unbeatable lead when her alarmed trainer noticed Smashing Sally heading in the reverse direction down the straight.
"I knew my bitch was going to win but apart from that if Smashing Sally had collided with her one or both of them could have been killed," DEAN, in a lather of sweat from his last minute sprint, said later.
"I’ve never run so fast but managed to grab Smashing Sally by the rug and pull her away from the action."
Stewards issued a "hold all bets" edict while video footage was checked and after a brief delay, the all clear signal was declared.
Push It then came up with the perfect box two draw in the $75,000 to the winner Wentworth Park final, with notoriously slow starter Bessy Boo coming up with box one.
"It’s the best draw I could possibly wish for," DEAN said.
Also happy with the draw was Nowra trainer Phil Goodsell, whose dog Stilton Blue got box three.
"He will run straight to the first corner," Phil said later.
"So he won’t hamper Push It but I can envisage that greyhound and Stilton Blue charging to the first bend together."
Phil was holidaying in the week leading up to the Peter Mosman Classic semis and tuned up Stilton Blue by jogging with the dog along soft sand at a remote south coast beach.
"He doesn’t like swimming much but I stood him in the water as well as jogging with him," Phil said.
“When I’m at home I take the dog on bush walks along fire trails near my property."
Biggest runs by beaten greyhounds who made the Peter Mosman Classic final were by Access and All Strung Out.
Access was checked going through the catching pen before finishing second to Push It and trainer Ian Garland was hopeful when only boxes one and four had not been drawn.
Unfortunately for Ian, Bessy Boo drew the rails with Access drawing poorly in four.
"He could have just about won from box one but probably now has little chance," he lamented.
All Strung Out, a sensational second in ZIPPING Delta’s heat, produced another mighty effort to finish second in Tommy Brislane’s semi final.
"He has never had box one but now would be a nice time to draw it because if he does he will go close to winning," All Strung Out’s trainer Glenn Rounds said before the box draw.
But All Strung Out drew box eight, not hopeless but a draw which still gives the mediocre beginner a difficult task.
Les Whitton, 73, has been training for 55 years and was successful on one of his rare forays to the city when Genetic Jenny won at Wentworth Park on Saturday night.
Genetic Jenny is a recent purchase by owner Brendan McHatton, and Les, from ORANGE, said later he had been training for Brendan for 15 years.
See you next week!
