Ride The Rails is all the rage for Friday night’s Group 2 Ladbrokes Cyril Rowe Cup final at Bulli but trainer Kelly Bravo warns the dog will need room to move early.
“He has had eight races from box one without winning because he always wants to run up the track,’’ Bravo said.
“Ride The Rails went fabulously well to win his heat in the fastest time of the night but that was from his favourite draw, box eight.
“But I think he will be okay in the final as long as has a bit of room to move in the run to the first turn.’’
Last week Ride The Rails was fifth away but displayed dazzling pace to sweep around his rivals to lead at the first turn.
He careered away to win by nearly eight lengths in the fastest time of the night, 25.94, which was only 0.07 outside the track record.
It was the dog’s 26th win in 67 starts and a win on Friday will take his earnings to more than $170,000.
However Jason Fletcher, whose dog Fantastic Sid has drawn box two, believes his greyhound could bring Ride The Rails unstuck in the charge to the first bend.
“Last week Fantastic Sid also had box two and he crunched the greyhound who had box one into the Rails,’’ Fletcher said.
“Fantastic Sid is super fit for Friday’s race, I only wish I was as fit as him,’’ the trainer quipped.
“I fully expect my dog to run a great race.’’
Victorian trainer Bravo has three of the eight finalists in Friday night’s $40,000 to the winner Bulli Cup.
She also qualified with Kayda Shae who came from seventh early to win a heat in 26.23 and with Waymore’s Blues, who chased home Wuxi in a 26.33sec heat.
“Kayda Shae is slightly inferior to Ride The Rails at this stage but he is only a young dog, just 23 months old,’’ Bravo said.
“And while he has a big future Kayda Shae is badly drawn in box five at Bulli.’’
Londonderry trainer Luke Azzopardi has qualified for the final with Wuxi but has a better chance of taking out the Shellharbour City Tour Coaches Consolation final with Estranged.
Estranged posted the quickest first split in the Bulli Cup heats when he set up a big early lead before being run down and beaten just under two lengths by Fantastic Sid.
Azzopardi’s greyhound raced wide in last week’s heats so Estranged looks well suited out in box six in Friday’s Consolation final.
My selections for the Bulli Cup are Ride The Rails 1, Winsome Jacko 2, Fantastic Sid 3, Kayda Shae 4.
Best bet of the night should be Windaroo Lad who has box one in the Aus-Pump Concrete Services Stakes, first leg of the quaddie.
Windaroo Lad is far and away the fastest Bulli winner in the field and won his only race while wearing the red rug.
He made the pace before finishing second to the highly regarded Constable Sniff at WP on Monday night and would have gone close to winning but for racing very wide on the tighter Wenty circuit.
