Burn One Down too good in Super Stayers despite limited prep

DAVID Pringle says his powerhouse stayer Burn One Down was only 90 per cent fit heading into Thursday's Listed Super Stayers (710m) at Albion Park.

Despite this, the son of Buck Fever and Fancy Jaffa was far too classy for his rivals, defeating Ebby Ripper and Cyndie's Magic in a fast 41.71.

The run was an excellent preparation for the Group 1 National Distance Championship in August, eliminating the need for Burn One Down to trial at the track in the lead up to the series.

“He is only 90 per cent fit so it was great to see him do what he did last night,” Pringle told Australian Racing Greyhound.

“He had a few things going against him, it was his first ride on a plane and his first look at the track, but he still managed to go quicker than Fanta Bale did when winning the Gold Cup.

“He hasn't had the preparation we would have liked him to have, but his class got him there on the line.

“It was a great effort.”

Trained by Seona and Jason Thompson, Burn One Down was having just his fifth run back from an injury-enforced spell on Thursday night.

He has now won 27 of his 44 starts with 10 minor placings and $400,459 in career earnings.

Pringle says the two-month spell did the 37-kilogram heavyweight the world of good prior to contesting what could be his final preparation.

“He had been up for a fair while so I think the break did him the world of good.

“I think he has matured a bit – he was as dumb as anything when I broke him in as a pup but now he is very switched on and he is getting better with age.”

Since being back on the track, Burn One Down has won the Group 3 The Racecallers, set a track record over 680m at Geelong and run third in the Sandown Cup.

Prior to his break the black chaser stamped himself as the best stayer in the country, winning the Group 1 Zoom Top, the Group 2 TopGun Stayers and the Group 3 TopCat Video Cup.

However, Pringle concedes he won't be pushing Burn One Down on the race track and says retirement isn't too far away.

“He is three and a half now so we will probably be looking at retiring him at the end of the year, he is already registered at stud and we have already had a few inquiries.

“Until then he'll keep racing and hopefully he can knock off another big race – he is a class animal.”