The first ever heats of ‘The Clarence’ (660m), worth $25,000 to the winner, will be run this evening and we’ve got the good oil if you want to have a wager:
Scintillate (8) goes on top and I think she will make amends for a disappointing effort in The Richmond heats at Casino 10 days ago (replay below). The daughter of Konomi was sluggish away from Box 3 and it proved costly as she was bumped and bullocked nearly the entire way around the tight turning track. She finished more than 17 lengths behind Doing FINE, but she has typically produced her best form over further. She’s had a dozen runs since November 16, resulting in three wins and seven placings, and two back she ran third to Valpolicella in the G1 Gold Cup. That form would win this with a leg in the air. Pursuer (7) is the kennelmate and half-sister to Scintillate and she is another Tzouvelis runner looking to bounce back after running below expectations at Casino. She was in the same heat as Scintillate and maybe just didn’t handle the track or the shorter 620m trip. Up to a tough 660m on the expansive Grafton track could be the key and she did knock off ‘The Richmond’ finalists Sanisha and Brindle Blaster at the track and trip back on January 14. Run West (4) was also in ‘The Richmond’ decider last week so comes here off the short back up. Tough old customer but hasn’t won a race since March last year and he has never raced over further than 620m so late fitness will be telling. And Mean Girl (2) has form around the aforementioned Doing FINE and Sanisha as well, (albeit he trailed both dogs in by more than seven lengths). The Mathew Reid-trained runner has raced at Grafton before but never over 660m.
This heat is all about two runners in particular but Off The Richter (1) looks like he could be a middle distance (or further) star of the future based off his latest efforts in the Summer Six-Hundy series at Gosford. His scorching heat win in a time of 34.43 was backed up a week later with a 34.48 effort to finish second in the feature final (replay below) to the almost unbeatable Father Rick, and Gary Stewart may well have one of the top seeds for next month’s Ladbrokes Country Classic (LCC). Interesting move to target this race considering he’s so young and has no race experience at the circuit, but no doubt the dangling carrot of direct qualification into the semi-finals of the LCC has caught the camps eye and rightly so. Naturally there is a query over the trip for such a young dog with only 10 starts to his name, but he's been freshened up and is a very exciting prospect. Sanisha (2) was pretty unlucky to run second in the final of ‘The Richmond’ at Casino behind Seven Sinners because she looked to be bolting for the entire second half of that race and just couldn’’t get out. That’s greyhound racing sometimes though (especially at Casino) so let’s see if she can bounce out of that run and qualify for another feature final at Grafton. One of few with race experience over the 660m after running third to sister, Pursuer, at the track back in January. She’s hard fit with eight runs already this year of 600m or more and she looks the main danger to Off The Richter, especially if she can find the rail in front of him. Adelmo Bale (4) has earnt 43 cheques from 64 race starts and has enough early pace (on paper anyway) to lead the field up. Vacant boxes in 3 and 6 should make his race for the front slightly easier but recent form suggests he might be paddling late. He hasn’t seen a middle distance race since April last year but will know the track. While Brindle Blaster (7) is probably overs, especially after two decent runs in ‘The Richmond’ series. The Jeff Ahern-prepared chaser has plenty of starts in the Northern Rivers and typically runs well from wide draws (eight starts from Box 6 or wider for three wins and three placings).
The heats of ‘The Clarence’ will go off on Sunday, February 18 at 8:28pm. The top four from each heat will qualify for next Sunday’s (February 25) final.
