Baby Jaycee shooting for six straight in Pink Diamond final
Baby Jaycee will be looking to make it six wins in a row when she lines up in the Pink Diamond Rookie Sprinter Final (460m) on Friday night at Warragul.
The Sapphire Crown winner, trained by Bob Douglas, lined up as a $1.55 favourite in the heat on her first look at the Bendigo 500m.
The classy bitch will now look to add another final to her name after winning her heat at Bendigo in a time of 27.89.
“She is the real deal and she is one or two lengths off being an absolute freak,” Douglas said.
He said that for such a quiet bitch, once she arrives at the track she kicks into another gear, and he didn't see that changing anytime soon.
“Once we get to the track, she fires up and she lets the white line fever take over,” he said.
“She is very competitive and becomes a completely different animal.
“She can get fired up in the kennel, at Bendigo especially because she did most of her learning there and she knew where she was.”
It almost was not to be with a late challenge from a resurgent Navarino to try and rob Baby Jaycee of the victory but he had to settle for runner-up.
“I think he (Navarino) has a massive future,” Douglas said.
“It was a giant run against Jaycee.
“For us to beat him on Friday he is going to have to get tangled up I say.
“He powered home at Bendigo and the uphill run at Warragul is going to suit him down to the ground.”
2023 Pink Diamond Rookie Sprinter Heat 3 replay
Winner: Baby Jaycee (27.89)
In the start prior to the heat win, Baby Jaycee won at Warragul over the 460m by 0.79 lengths in her first look there, an effort that her trainer says she should show improvement on in Friday's final.
“We took her there so she could have a look before the Pink Diamond series heats started,” Douglas said.
“She has had a look there and I think there is still a little bit of improvement at that track.”
Baby Jaycee ($2.80 favourite) has drawn box two in the $25,000-to-the-winner final – a great result as she has drawn that same box for her last two starts, both victories.
“We like her near the fence and she is much suited there so we are very happy with the draw,” Douglas said.
“She is all fired up and ready to go.”
The Jason Thompson-trained Navarino will come out of box four in the final, paying $5.50 with online bookmakers.
“We were wrapped with Navarino's effort in his heat,” handler Luke Thompson said.
“To get as close to Baby Jaycee as he did was huge.
“She's amongst one of the best dogs in the country, and has been racing with the likes of Amron Boy, Kelsey Bale, Wow She's Fast, and those types for a while now.
“While our bloke is only coming out of Grade 5 company.
“He's always had a lot of ability and is just starting to put it together now in his races.
“He'll obviously have to do everything right to beat Baby Jaycee and the rest of the field.
“But if he gets his chance, he will be up there when the whips are cracking up the home straight.”
The Thompson camp also trains Got Attitude ($18), who won his heat at Shepparton by 2.87 lengths in a time of 25.19 and will jump from box three in the final.
Although Navarino is the stronger hope to take out Baby Jaycee, it could be the worst family reunion with Got Attitude the half-brother to the race favourite (Bernardo x Sunset Senorita).
“Both dogs pulled up well after their respective runs,” Luke Thompson said.
“The box draw could be better, would have preferred Navarino drawn a bit wider, but their both in there with chances.”
Once the Pink Diamond Rookie Sprinter Final is run, Baby Jaycee will be targeted for the Maturity Classic (525m) on July 22, where she is a $9 chance behind joint favourites Alpha Zula and Victa Damian ($5).
Douglas explained that the reasoning behind the race decision was twofold but he was confident in her ability in the Group 1 feature.
“We could have gone for the Open class one which was $75,000 to the winner, but we elected to go this way because we were in the exact age bracket,” he said.
“She was born on the cutoff day.
“Plus being a bitch, I just am not sure if she can match motors with some of the bigger track dogs on the horseshoe and if she could match it with that level of depth.
“I think she is much suited for the two turns.
“She has a fierce will to win.”
2023 Pink Diamond Rookie Sprinter Final Box Draw & FieldWarragul460m$25,000-to-the-winnerFriday, June 16
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1 Trending Zari
T: Thomas DaillyF: 3422Career: 44: 9-10-6Prizemoney: $57,490
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2 Baby Jaycee
T: Robert DouglasF: 1111Career: 41: 24-4-6Prizemoney: $436,832
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3 Got Attitude
T: Jason ThompsonF: 2111Career: 9: 5-2-0Prizemoney: $15,220
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4 Navarino
T: Jason ThompsonF: 5512Career: 15: 6-3-2Prizemoney: $23,845
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5 Crackerjack Bull
T: Jordan CooperF: 1571Career: 23: 10-2-3Prizemoney: $50,485
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6 That's Ivy's
T: Jeffrey BrittonF: 2122Career: 18: 8-4-1Prizemoney: $32,485
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7 Fabs Max Potato
T: Thomas DaillyF: 2331Career: 43: 4-10-13Prizemoney: $25,915
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8 Flip Your Fifty
T: Daryl HolmesF: 4622Career: 17: 3-4-2Prizemoney: $245,570
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| Reserves | |
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9 New Wave Whine
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10 Top Payer
T: Deb CarrF: 2253Career: 22: 9-3-4Prizemoney: $31,119
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