The shadow cast by kennelmates Jungle Deuce and Miss Ezmae is considerable, yet Jack Smith’s youngster Thirsty Colley certainly turned heads in his slick maiden win at Bathurst on Monday.
At start three, the son of Keybow won an early battle to lead from box two and score in a sharp 25.78 over 450m – particularly smart time for a maiden.
The black dog now heads to Dubbo on Saturday for a 400m assignment and his clash with Wes McDonald’s Rookie Fusion should be a beauty.
Rookie Fusion has saluted in two of three starts, each at Dubbo over 400m with his 22.97 effort on November 6 the high-water mark. In each of his wins, Rookie Fusion has shown genuine pace to offset box four and he, again, has come up with a middle alley (5).
Last time, Rookie Fusion was not the best to begin but quickly wrested the lead from Never But Always and came away to score by just over four lengths. His time was .19 or 2 ½ lengths quicker than the other high-graded event on the 1-race card won by Sonny Daze.
The start will be critical for both juveniles this time. As the more reliable beginner, Rookie Fusion may have an edge but he is drawn outside Thirsty Colley and will need to ‘run around’ him to win and that’s no easy task.
Later in the evening, Smith has a strong hand in the GRNSW Middle Distance series event with Midnight Flash and Irinka Molly.
When last at Dubbo, Midnight Flash scored over 516m in slick 29.73 and he’d won at the track over 605m in a smart 34.80.
Irinka Molly arrives back at Dawson Park in peak form. She’s saluted at her past two Bathurst outings over 520m and has the pace to offset her wide draw (six).
Also in the mix for the $5000 purse is Charmaine Roberts’ Payton Keeping. She’s at her best at this distance range and latest results have been consistent.
The first of 10 races at Dubbo gets underway at 5.58pm.
