A win in next Friday’s $50,000 to the winner final of the inaugural GRNSW Southern Stars series would mean the world for John and Kath Mellon.
The local couple qualified Mellcat Big Boy for next week’s decider at Goulburn, with a heat win at that same track on Friday afternoon.
“I would be on top of the world,” said John after the heat victory in 24.66s. “This is the pinnacle for us. We don’t get in big races normally, so this is it.
“If we can get the job done next week … mate I’m going on holidays.
“This series means everything. It’s given the game a better profile, it’s introducing new people to the game and old people too.”
Asked which box they would like for the final, Kath went for box 1. John added: “I want a head start.” They ended up drawing box 7.
Fastest heat winner at Goulburn was the Group 1 Vic Peters winner Gatlin for Minnie Finn who clocked the tidy figures of 24.42s, in a heat which had been expected to be dominated by the brilliant She’s A Pearl before that bitch was scratched on the eve of the race due to injury.
“We were going into the race pretty confident only that She’s A Pearl was in it,” Minnie said. “We trialed him here on Tuesday and he went really well so we were pretty confident.”
Many expected the dynamic Good Odds Cash to win her way into the final and she did exactly that, but only just.
Good Odds Cash had to fight out a thrilling three-way finish to narrowly score over a gallant Yuko Girl, with Devil Dodger just behind that pair.
“I couldn’t see much from over there (at the starting boxes) but it looked like they were all together and she was stuck in the middle somewhere and then I saw her burst out,” trainer Frank Hurst said.
Hurst added that it wasn’t until he received a phone call earlier in the week asking if she was contesting the series that he decided to nominate Good Odds Cash.
“Someone rang me and said are you going in the Southern Stars,” Hurst said. “I said I don’t think so and I looked at the calendar and I thought well I’m only going to be trialling because they probably won’t get a race for her at Wenty, and I’ll definitely get a run at Goulburn, so I better get down there.”
While the NSW sprinters stood up at Goulburn the last two dogs to qualify for final were both Victorians and one of those winners at Wagga left onlookers gobsmacked.
Kayla Cotterell’s Robbie Rotten scored a strong win in the opening heat of the series winning in 22.82s, then the performance of the series was produced by Paua Of BUDDY, who speared to the lead and raced away for a nine length win in 22.28s, a time amazingly 0.25s inside the track record set in May 2019 by Bit Flash.
The run was the first for Paua Of BUDDY since March when he injured a toe in an event at Shepparton.
Trainer Steve White had sent the reigning Bendigo Cup winner to owner-breeder David Jones at Wagga to recuperate, and Jones handled the dog on Friday night.
The win was Paua Of BUDDY’s 12th from 18 starts a record which includes five second placings as well.
Friday’s heat winners from Wagga and Goulburn join the qualifiers from Temora – Aston Barak, Crowdza Dazzled and Midnight Return.
