For Brian Smith, missing a start in the final of the South Australian Derby could not only have been a blessing in disguise, it may turn out to be a one million dollar result.
Smith’s greyhound Ultimate Speed finished third in the heats of the Group event in Adelaide, but missed the final and was drawn as the first reserve. He didn’t a get a start, and that is now a blessing.
“Had he got a start in that race last Thursday week, then I would have gone to Adelaide for the race,” Smith said. “But he didn’t not surprisingly, so we raced on the Friday in the heats of the Million Dollar Chase here at Wagga.”
Ultimate Speed didn’t just race, he won his heat, then on Saturday night, he upstaged his higher profile opponents, and proved that win was far from a fluke, winning the Regional Final of the TAB Million Dollar Chase, and booking a berth in the semi-finals of the event at Wentworth Park on October 11.
“We’re one step closer now and there’s two tracks he likes: this joint, and he loves Wentworth Park. He’s run 29.64s there.
”His results here are no fluke. He’s a dog that never takes a backwards step. We got him after he’d had two races, and he wasn’t in the best condition and had a failing to Chase ticket. We gave him a good break and fixed everything up and he’s never gone backwards from day one.”
We continually heard how the Victorians would target the Wagga leg of the Million Dollar Chase, and while they came, and made a huge impression in the heats, it was ultimately the local who claimed the main prize.
After breaking the track record last week in the heats, Deliver was expected to be dominant in the final, and his kennelmate, the brilliant Black Opium, with the benefit of a look at Wagga last week in the heats, was also expected to be in the major mix, and was backed into odds-on favouritism just before jump.
And things looked like they were going to script when both of Jason Thompson’s pair, Deliver and Black Opium, charged out of the boxes and were one-two passing the post the first time.
But just as Deliver looked like landing on the lure again in front, he went amiss and ran wide on the track, checking Black Opium, and allowing Ultimate Speed to rail through and lead, and the local refused to be caught, clocking 29.93s.
Black Opium was 1¼ lengths away second, with There’s A Catch a further five lengths adrift, just a ahead of Perfect Marshall. That trio all join Ultimate Speed in the semi-finals at Wentworth Park on October 11.
