Form students, tipsters and punters alike all expected a dog called Midnight would be the winning story out of the Dubbo heats of the TAB Million Dollar Chase on Sunday night. It just wasn’t the Midnight everyone anticipated.
Most thought that David Pringle’s brilliant speedster Midnight Dare would be the talk of the track, and some even considered the track record might get a gentle nudge.
But while Midnight Dare floundered, Midnight Joyce had tongues wagging.
It was 12 months ago at the Dubbo track when Midnight Starlet flew around the track, smashed the track record and qualified for the Million Dollar Chase semi-finals. She would then go on to win her semi and reach the inaugural grand final, finishing behind the placegetters.
On Sunday night, her sister Midnight Joyce had her Million Dollar Chase moment when she stormed home to catch runaway leader Nangar Gift in the shadows of the post and cause a boilover in the Dubbo heats.
Starting an $81 chance with TAB fixed odds, Midnight Joyce clocked 29.79s at her Dubbo debut, and booked her berth in next Saturday’s Regional Final.
So fast did she rush home and Nangar Gift stop, the winning margin was a length. Jimmy Casey ran on strongly for third with Cliff Keeping a close-up fourth and also making it through to the final.
“She was in the Bathurst heat and final and had no luck,” Midnight Joyce’s trainer Mark Swift said. “She was broken in here (Dubbo) and when she got box three, and got to the rail, I knew she would finish over the top of them.
“I’ve been trying to build her up but every time I get her to the 700m something goes wrong with her.”
Back in 2013 Swift trained good stayer Smart Valentino to win the NSW National Distance Championship, and then went on to win the National Distance Title at The Meadows. He said it gave him a real taste for the sport and big races, and last year he campaigned Zipping Beau in the Million Dollar Chase series.
He knows it will be tough for Midnight Joyce if she gets through next week’s Regional Final and into the semis in Sydney, but as the old saying goes, you’ve got to be in it to win it.
“She’s going to be racing champions but if you’re not in it …“ Swift said.
“I don’t understand why anybody who has a fifth grade dog who can run 500m, doesn’t put them in this because you never know.”
Unlike Midnight Joyce, Midnight Dare was at the other end of the market when her turn arrived to race, sent out a very warm favourite.
But after stepping only moderately, then being checked soon after, Midnight Dare didn’t handle the track on the first turn, swung wide and was a long last heading up the back.
If there was a saving grace, it was that she managed to pass two rivals in the six dog field and fall into fourth, thus securing a spot in Saturday’s Regional Final.
Victory went to the locally-trained Annabel Keeping for Charmaine Roberts.
Having just her fifth start, Annabel Keeping led from box rise and held off all challengers to register her fourth win, clocking 29.67s. Second was Buck’s Future, a semi-finalist in 2018 of the Chase, with Connie’s Boy third. Midnight Dare was fourth more than 7½ lengths form the winner.
The box draw for next Saturday’s final is: 1 Connie’s Boy 2Cliff Keeping 3 Midnight Dare 4 Buck’s Future 5 Midnight Joyce 6 Jimmy Casey 7 Annabel Keeping 8 Nangar Gift 9 Clare Fallon 10 Winlock Ramierz.
