Like father, like son. If anyone would know how true that was, it would be Jack Smith.
The man who week in and week out was amazed at some of the things his kennel superstar Feral Franky could do, watched in amazement as The Feral’s son, Palawa King somehow became the National Distance champion at The Meadows on Saturday night.
Palawa King looked to have the final at his mercy as - after his customary slow start - he made his way through traffic and sailed up behind the leaders Ballistic Ant and Fast Minardi going down the back. He should have gone straight past them but tried for an inside run and was disappointed not once, not twice but three times.
Each time it halted his momentum almost bringing him to a stop, and, to be honest, it looked to have cost him any chance the final time when he was strung up, and Fast Minardi raced four of five lengths clear.
But again The King balanced up, chased hard, moved alongside the leader as they swung for home and went on to record an amazing win in 42.70s.
“I thought down the back he’s buggered it, and for him to get going again and do it in a staying race is unbelievable,” Smith said.
“He just has a knack to be able to save his energy while he's doing it. Most dogs just can't recover from that. I don’t know ... his father could do it and he can. He does it too.”
So swift was his finish that Palawa King had 2¾ lengths to spare over Tasmanian Fast Minardi, with Queenslander Days Of Thunder a close up third. NSW’s other representative Zipping Vanessa was up alongside Palawa King with a lap to run, and battled on without threatening.
The Nationals’ win now sits alongside the Queensland Cup and the State Of Origin Distance titles which Palawa King collected at Albion Park during the winter.
“Yeah, and we’ve got a couple of months left to go,” the laconic Smith said. “No, we've had an unbelievable year. Everyone's very grateful to him, the owners, Marie (his wife) and I.
“(Owners) Errol and Wendy Hughes (who had their home destroyed by floodwaters in Forbes late last year), they have had a tough time and they deserve everything that comes their way.”
Former New Zealander Postman Pat, now locally-trained in Victoria, was all the rage to take out the National Sprint Championships Final, but a barnstorming finish saw West Australian Saige Tenniele for Kody Charles take out the title from a trio of Victorians, Aussie Rocks, Tinker Norm and Postman Pat.
NSW representative Modern Swinger lost all chance when checked a couple of times soon after jumping and as a result found himself squeezed out and at the rear of the field.
