As the winner of 22 races Take It All seems well placed in Saturday night’s fourth and fifth grade Lavender Family Sprint but trainer Doreen Drynan believes her dog’s chances hinge on the field “opening up’’ for him at the crucial first turn.
Take It All, who was a finalist in kennelmate Chica Destacada’s NSW Sprint Championship at Wentworth Park on August 9, meets far easier opposition on Saturday night.
The dog has box one and goes into the race with four wins from 11 starts carrying the red rug.
“Box one is all well and good but for a dog like Take It All, who hasn’t got a lot of early pace, it is not much help unless he has a bit of luck early," Drynan said.
“He is trialling well but he needs to have the field open up for him at the first corner.’’
On Saturday Take It All will be handled by his owner Kerry Drynan, deputising for her mother who will be handling Chica Destacada in the National Sprint Championship in Perth.
Another dog who looks well placed at Wentworth Park on Saturday night is the Mark Gatt-trained Ritza Raider, who has box two in the first Wentworthpark.com.au Sprint.
Ritza Raider has won six races over the Wentworth Park 520m trip, at least one more than any of his rivals on Saturday night.
And while the dog’s best form has been from outside boxes, he has become adept at handling inside draws as he has gained maturity.
“I was really pleased with the way he got to the line to win from box eight at Wenty last week but box two on Saturday should not be a problem,’’ Gatt said.
“When he began racing he wanted to get wide but Ritza Raider has learned to rail when required and he has been handling inside boxes well.’’
Bringelly trainer Mark Wilcox’s remarkable litter by Knocka Norris from Winning Shiraz has won 86 races and only bad luck can stop Highly Respected adding to that astonishing total in Saturday night’s Jean Lavender 90th Birthday Cup at Wentworth Park.
While Knocka’s Return and Natural Player are arguably the fastest in the litter, Highly Respected has adapted best to the tighter Wentworth Park Circuit.
The dog has had three wins and three seconds from ten Wentworth Park outings and on Saturday drops from free-for-all class to fourth and fifth grade company.
“He is well in but box six is a bit of a worry,’’ Wilcox said.
“The draw itself is not a concern because Highly Respected will run straight from the boxes to the first turn, he won’t crash to the fence.
“But in the past he has been inclined to miss the jump when he has been drawn wide.’’
Former TAB Young Trainer of the Year award winner Kristy Sultana has bright prospects of landing a double at Wentworth Park on Saturday with lid-pinger Premier Mozz in the second Wentworthpark.com.au Sprint and with Jewel Action in the Geoff and Jean Lavender Sprint.
Premier Mozz is rarely led in her races and while she tired badly when fifth to Tautology at Wentworth Park on August 9 she hit the line in far better fashion when beaten in the last stride by Ritza Raider last Saturday night.
Premier Mozz has box two this week and after winning four of her six starts from this draw should be first out and first home on Saturday.
Jewel Action has been sidelined for six weeks with a minor injury but is one of the most exciting sprinters in training and goes into this week’s race boasting the outstanding strike rate of seven wins, two seconds and a third from 10 starts.
Best Bet: Premier Mozz (Race 3)
Best Value: Take It All (Race 1)
Quaddie: Race 5 – 6, 4, 1
Race 6 – 4, 3
Race 7 – 5, 1, 7
Race 8 – 5, 4, 2
$20 for 37.03%
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