Owner Clinton Hobby certainly hopes so, otherwise he wouldn’t have sent his kennel star across the Nullabor to proven big race winners Michelle Sultana and Darryl Thomas for a tilt at the world’s richest race series.
“He’s a quick dog, hence why he’s over in NSW for the MDC…he’s definitely a dark horse you shouldn’t rule out,” Hobby said from his home state of WA.
Sunset Frazier with trainer David Hobby (father of Clinton)
“Michelle [Sultana] offered to buy him during the QLD winter carnival but I turned it down…but she did say if we send him over for the MDC, she’d look after him. So we kept in conversation and as the MDC got closer, I called her up and said “let’s give it a go.” My dad also has a good rapport with Sam Sultana [Michelle’s dad] so that made things easy as well.”
Sunset Frazier already an 11-time winner including Group 3 success, and he has earnt cheques in 24 of 26 race starts.
The Western Australian product slotting straight into work this week with Sultana and Thomas as they prepare him for a crack at the Group 2 Black Top at The Gardens.
Hobby keenly aware his charge needs to lead if he’s to have any big race success over the next six weeks.
“He’s a bit of a one trick pony…an ‘out and go’ type. If he gets off the mat clean, he’ll give you a really good sight in every race he contests. He’s got speed to burn when he gets going and he’s already won more than $200,000 in prizemoney,” Hobby added.
“He’s got the back section record at Cannington, 18.01 I think, and he’s done that three times. He might paddle a bit late but he puts himself in a lot of races and is still only two-and-a-half so there should be improvement to come.”
That race pattern oh so evident in the Group 1 Sandgroper in April at Cannington with Sunset Frazier producing a bold front-running effort to almost snatch the $300,000 feature.
Gun Victorian Hector Fawley producing a herculean run to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
A dog Hobby believes “could have been anything” with a clean bill of health.
“He was a heartbreaker…he could have won a million dollars if he stayed sound. But he fractured a couple of bones in his wrist in a race and that was it for him,” Hobby said.
“We didn’t want to give up on him because he had so much ability. He only lost three races and was one of the best we’ve had so now we’re just pushing him at stud.”
Sunset Spitfire is a joint track record holder over the 400m at Mandurah with Crumble Monelli (21.90) and had a PB of 29.39 at Cannington over the 520m.
He only lost three races from 17 starts with his 14 wins including a victory over superstar sprinter, Tommy Shelby.
And although not as popular as his rival at stud, the early signs are certainly encouraging for Hobby, with Sunset Spitfire’s offspring already winning more than 170 races at a strike rate of 23%, as well as more than $1 million in prizemoney.
“He elevates your line, pure and simple. Sunset Frazier’s mother [Sunset Octavia] was a 30 second dead bitch at Cannington and look at what she’s produced by going to him,” Hobby said.
“I put Octavia back to Spitfire because I only got dogs in the first litter and we knew how valuable bitches could be. We’ve got two girls in the latest group who are about two-months-old which is great for future breeding.”
“We don’t sell pups but they’d be worth a bit. We get the good, the bad and the ugly and we do that because you’re not going to sell a pup for a million dollars but we can race for a million bucks.”
Sunset Frazier is currently a $17 chance to win the MDC with Ladbrokes.
The Ladbrokes Million Dollar Chase continues on Saturday with heats at Dubbo before the first regional finals are held at Maitland and Temora next week.
