Interstate raiders Fanta Bale, Slick and Up Hill Jill stole the show at Saturday night's star-studded Wentworth Park meeting.
Victoria's Fanta Bale took her earnings to $1,137,475 with her decisive victory in heat one of the Group 2 Summer Plate while Slick from Queensland and Up Hill Jill, another Victorian, were clearly the most impressive of the eight Ladbrokes Paws Of Thunder heat winners.
Slick, trained by Queensland by English migrant John Mccarthy, set the time standard for the 520m Thunder heats by leading throughout in 29.67, fastest time of the night.
But Up Hill Jill was equally as exciting, leading throughout in 29.74 but producing sectional times of near record 5.31, 13.64 and 17.74.
Slick's "splits'' were 5.48, 13.80 and 17.89, indicating he is going to have to run down Up Hill Jill if he is to win next Saturday's final.
Fanta Bale won her Summer Plate heat over 720m in 42.62 with Packey Keeping, NSW-owned but Victorian trained, taking out the other heat in a far quicker 42.39.
But Peter Riley, foreman for trainer Robert Britton's kennel, agreed after the race Fanta Bale's win was among her best performances.
Fanta Bale usually sets a scorching pace and sometimes struggles at the end of 720m, but on Saturday she was fourth at the first turn and had to come from second, behind Midnight Treat, on the back straight.
Yet she won running away by three lengths, with Packey Keeping bolting in by five lengths after trailing pacemaker Egyptian Pirate in the early stages.
Slick raced wide to win his Thunder heat from box six but trainer John Mccarthy is not concerned at his dog's box two final draw.
"I either wanted an outside draw or box two,'' Mccarthy said.
"Slick's favourite box at home at Albion Park is the two, in fact he has won seven of his 10 races from that draw.''
Adelaide Cup winner Raw Ability, trained in Victoria by former Sydneysider Anthony Azzopardi, won his heat in 29.92.
"He can probably improve on that because he had never seen Wenty until tonight,'' Azzopardi said.
"But Up Hill Jill's early splits are going to make her hard to beat.''
Surprise package was Dual Keroma, who overcame a big rise in class to win his heat for central coast trainer Susan Pitstock.
Dual Keroma came from midfield to win in 30.05, with Pitstock commenting: "This dog just loves Wentworth Park.
"When I get him out of the car here he starts madly wagging his tail, he doesn't do that anywhere else, so for some reason he loves being here.''
Mark Gatt, the premier trainer for Wentworth Park in 2017, is the only trainer to have two runners in Saturday's Thunder final, landing heats with Ritza Lenny in 29.97 and It's A Party in 29.95.
Veteran stayer-turned-sprinter Trip To Eden won his heat for Newcastle trainer Robert Smith in 30.13 while Bogan Doonie, once described as a "problem child'' by Yass trainer Neil Staines, scored in 30.16.
Box draw for the Paws Of Thunder is:
1 Dual Keroma
2 Slick
3 Ritza Lenny
4 Raw Ability
5 Up Hill Jill
6 Bogan Doonie
7 Trip To Eden
8 It's A Party
Reserves
Black Hole Sun
Little Nangar.
Summer Plate box draw is:
1 Fanta Bale
2 Bolt Like Bekim
3 Midnight Treat
4 Lochinvar Hugo
5 Ebby Ripper
6 Sublime News
7 Scott Keeping
8 Packey Keeping
Reserves
Gunnadoo Cove
Zipping Floyd.
See you next week!
