Linda Britton Starts Six In “The Schweppes” Final
In a amazing confirmation of Linda Britton's dominance as WA's leading trainer, the astute trainer will box six of the eight runners in Friday nights Group 3 $22,500 to winner “The Schweppes” Final at Mandurah.
Six of Britton's dogs have qualified for the 492m feature race – the $33,750 Group 3 Schweppes Final at Kanyana Park.
“It was great night, they just kept rolling in,” said Britton of her success in last weekend's heats.
Britton will have Elegant (box 1), West On Paris (box 2), Torque Bale (box 4), Vulture Street (box 5), Princess Crystal (box 6) and She's Our Jewel (box 7) race in the final.
Britton has named the Peter Sayer-trained Top Fuel as the main threat to her winning prospects and after some consideration, was able to nominate a favourite from her half-a-dozen chances.
“It is hard to separate them as they're all honest dogs and deserve their place in the final, but Torque Bale is probably the pick of them,” she said.
Despite the fact that he finished second in his heat and has had limited starts at Mandurah, Torque Bale is the most experienced greyhound in the field.
“I expect him (Torque Bale) to improve as he hadn't raced at the track for some time (prior to his heat),” Britton said.
“He's a proven big-race performer and he's a dog that will rail through and not get caught out wide.”
Despite entering the race with three-quarters of the field, Britton is taking nothing for granted.
“Well, the worst we can come is third,” she said
Britton has trained the winner of “The Schweppes” five times previously, including last year's winner, Billion Boy.
She is currently on track to claim her 10th metro (Cannington) trainer's title in a row and also holds a narrow lead over Lexia Isaac in the race for this year's Mandurah premiership.