Doreen Drynan’s remarkable affinity with the National Championship series continued at Wentworth Park on Saturday night when the Llandilo trainer qualified with two runners for next Saturday’s state final of the 520m Sprint.
Doreen’s Chica Destacada was fastest winner of the NSW Sprint heats, posting 29.60 in a hollow heat two victory, while Take It All went through to the NSW final via a strong finishing second behind Queen Esther’s 29.77 in heat one.
Back in 1973 Winged Gemini, trained by Doreen Drynan, won the NSW final of the National Distance Championship before contesting the grand final won by Victoria’s He’s Some Boy at Brisbane’s now defunct Gabba circuit.
And in both 1989 and 1990 Doreen’s under-rated sprinter Mister Britain qualified for the National Sprint Championships won by Western Australia’s Sandi’s Me Mum, who took out both the Cannington (WA) and Sandown (Victoria) finals.
"Mister Britain won both NSW finals at Wentworth Park when it was a grass track but he was a duffer on the sand surfaces of Cannington and Sandown," Doreen said on Saturday night.
Dusty Moonshine’s stranglehold on the NSW division of the National Distance Championship took a hit when the Denice Warren-trained bitch came up with box three in Saturday’s draw.
Dusty Moonshine broke the magical 42 second barrier for 720m for the third time in as many starts when she bolted away with heat one in 41.93.
She had previously won at Wentworth Park in 41.94 and 41.90, while outsider My Asuncion produced the boilover of the night when she led throughout in heat two in 42.28, her personal best time in 22 starts over the Wentworth Park 720m trip.
Connections of Dusty Moonshine were hoping for box seven or eight but Denice still believes her bitch has more improvement in her.
Delighted with the draw for the Distance Championship state final was trainer Neil Staines, whose dog Pumped Up Zarr drew box one.
"He could not be drawn better and I expect him to run a big race next week," Neil said after his dog finished a luckless third to Dusty Moonshine.
Pumped Up Zarr was beaten just over eight lengths but would have finished much closer to the winner had he not been checked off runner-up Queen Marina’s heels on the back straight.
Box draw for the NSW Distance Championship final is: 1. Pumped Up Zarr 2. Cyclone Simone 3. Dusty Moonshine 4. Cosmic Rosie 5. Queen Marina 6. Gotta Problem 7. Miss Fiction 8. My Asuncion 9. Luzaka Icon 10. Tifi For Me
Box draw for the NSW Sprint Championship final is: 1. Take It All 2. Silent Effective 3. Chica Destacada 4. Bessy Boo 5. Tommy Brislane 6. ASIA's Babe 7. Queen Esther 8. Miss Sueko 9. Booming Bennett 10. Evil Punk
Popular Catherine Fields trainer Charlie Gatt landed a winning double on Saturday night with exciting sprinter Lani Banarni and Minza Red One, who turns five in December.
Minza Red One was at least 12 months older than any of his rivals in his fourth and fifth grade event but led throughout in a slick 29.90, only 0.13 outside his personal best Wentworth Park figures.
Lani Banarni, named after part-owner Peter Baker’s daughter Lani, trialled 29.79 at Wentworth Park last week and ran down Here’s Skeeta in Saturday’s fifth grade race in 30.14.
"Lani Banarni has come back well after being sidelined for five weeks with a blood disorder," Charlie said on Saturday.
"And Minza Red One has been trialling only two tenths of a second slower than her so despite his age he is racing almost as well as ever.
"I don’t intend retiring him any time soon because he loves going to the track and he’ll tell me when he has had enough."
The win for Minza Red One, owned by David Rylewski, was his 11th at Wentworth Park on Saturday and took his earnings to $75,000.
Meanwhile, Kilkenny Babe scored her second win in four Wentworth Park starts on Saturday night after exiting box seven and taking the lead on the home turn.
Her owner-trainer Gwendoline Sparke said after the race: “Kilkenny Babe has now won five out of five starts from box seven but really does want box one at Wentworth Park.
"She has not drawn the rails at all in her 27 races but when she does come up with box one at Wenty I intend to have a really good bet on her."
See you next week!
