Bargain Pup Returning Value To Connections

By Jeff Collerson

Flying Mikayla, bought as a puppy at auction for a meagre $500, took her earnings past the $44,000 mark when she notched her 14th win and her fifth at Wentworth Park on Wednesday night.

The Lee Burke-trained greyhound stormed home to defeat hot favourite Dyna Orenthal comfortably, clocking the nippy time of 30.23.

Burke will now step Flying Mikayla up in distance, from Wednesday's 520m to a 630m race at Nowra On Monday.

"She is still beginning smartly but has lost the early speed she used to show over the first 75 metres,'' Burke said.

"Flying Mikayla has not raced at Nowra so is going into her first middle distance race 'cold' but at least she has drawn well.

"I wanted to see her boxed out wide and she has come up with box seven.''

Burke, a rookie owner-trainer, has only Flying Mikayla in his kennels at suburban Lurnea.

"I am going to have to look at buying another pup because Flying Mikayla is now three-and-a-half years old so isn't going to go on forever,'' Burke said.

"But she has been an absolute godsend for me and my family.''

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Zipping Clive is fastest qualifier for Saturday night's 520m Ladbrokes Cash Out final at Wentworth Park but trainer Jason MACKAY believes the dog's future is in middle distance racing.

On Wednesday Zipping Clive came from third at the half-way mark to win his heat of the 2-5 wins series by two lengths, covering the trip in 30.04.

Zipping Clive's time was not only quickest of last Wednesday night's five heats but was also best on the entire Wenty card.

"Zipping Clive had a month off after having a win and a second at his first two Wentworth Park starts and I brought him back for the National Derby heats on January 27,'' MACKAY said.

"He got checked before finishing fourth in his Derby heat but realistically he is not really up to that class as a sprinter.

"I was pleased with his win last Wednesday because he was backing up just four days after his hard run in the Derby heat.

"But I wanted to put him in that two to five wins series because with the final 10 days after the heats, it would give him ample time to recover from having two hard runs within a few nights.

"Zipping Clive is only 26 months old so has a bright future but the way he races, I don't think we will see the best of him until he tackles 600 metres or more.''

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Bev Abbott, who, with husband Michael, trained the champion racer and stud dog Token Prince and big races winners Fashion Thief, Jaylo Blush and Ultra Noir, has died after a long illness.

Her funeral will be held Tuesday at 1pm at Our Lady Of Fatima, 389 Port Hacking Road, Caringbah.

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Bringelly trainer Mark Wilcox has a couple of speedy ladies in Cosmic Blend, who clocked fastest time in Thursday's Commercial Painting Group Cup heats at Maitland, and her litter sister Burning Fuel.

Cosmic Blend took her record to four wins from five starts by recording 25.20 for the 450m trip while the unraced Burning Fuel sped over the same course in a performance trial in 25.26.

Wilcox's latest speedsters are daughters of his brood bitch Winning Shiraz, whose previous litter included Knocka's Return and Natural Player, winners of 41 and 34 races respectively.