But ‘Piper’ will now jump from Box 7 in Friday night’s final, with Scerri quietly confident she can claim another feature title.
“She’s got a run which is great. I do hope Unreal Speed is OK but I’m excited to be involved in another big final in Melbourne,” Scerri said.
“She ran a good race behind Unreal Speed and Sunnyside Jo in the heats and had the third best time of any dog on the night, so I was a bit disappointed she missed out initially.”
“But she’s in now and I know she can improve on that 41.94 run [Ritza Piper ran 41.79 at Sandown in the heats of the 2023 Bold Trease]. She spent more than four months off the track with injury and has only had three runs since returning so she’s nearly at her best again.”
2023 Summer Distance Plate winner Ritza Piper with Joe Scerri
The 16-time winner is back in the care of prominent Victorian mentors Paul and Diane Bartolo for the series.
Scerri still lauding the pair after they helped the daughter of Ritza Lenny score a breakthrough Group 1 win in the Topgun Stayers in November last year.
“Paul and Dianne are the best in the business and I’m so happy they are looking after her again. They know how to get the best out of her and having an extra week down there will only help her settle in even more,” Scerri said.
“They know how to prepare her for a big race now and I couldn’t think of anyone else I’d want to take care of ‘Piper’ ahead of a race like the Sandown Cup…I’m just so excited.”
“Valpolicella is obviously the big danger, she’s the 715 winner and she’s got Box 1. But I think Sunnyside Jo went really good last week, her first section was phenomenal in the heats and she will lead easily so we’ll have to run her down,” Scerri said.
