Bate Says Amity Bale As Good As Ibrox Park
And staying queen Ibrox was one of the catalysts behind Bate's burgeoning training success.
Bate was only 30 years old when Ibrox – named after Ibrox Stadium, the Glasgow-based home of Scottish Premier League side Rangers FC – won the 1977 Victorian Greyhound of the Year award.
“Ibrox was a superstar… She made an immediate impact in staying ranks,” Bate recalls.
“We even flew her to Sydney seven times and Adelaide twice in a Piper Navaho for the perfect score.
Three decades later, Bate says he has an “Ibrox clone” – Amity Bale.
“There are a lot of similarities… Amity Bale also has burst onto the staying scene and has a real V-eight motor,” Bate said.
“I always knew Amity Bale would stay… She can do it at both ends; she really hits overdrive over the last 200 metres.”
A finalist in last year's Group 1 Melbourne Cup over the sprint trip, Amity Bale has not tasted defeat in three distance starts – including a stunning 41.96sec win at Sandown Park on June 4, the equal third fastest time on record over 715 metres on that track.
Trained at Lara, Amity Bale is a $2.60 pre-post favourite for the $25,000-to-the-winner Group 2 McKenna Memorial at Sandown Park on Thursday night.