Carton Of Bear brings hot form into Ipswich Anniversary Cup final
This year, Ipswich Greyhound Club celebrates the milestone of over four decades showcasing the greatest racing talent on four legs that our sport has to offer.
The first field of greyhounds pinged on May 1, 1982, with a fifth-grade race over 512m won by Yessam Black Top.
The Anniversary Cup over 520m celebrates this milestone, and with two heats held on Saturday night it sets up a final next weekend with a great field of chasing talent.
In the first heat, the Casey Dargusch-trained bitch Bora Blue sped to the lead using the box two draw perfectly. Ally Gal, trained by Jedda Cutlack, came out running wide before ducking inside to ride the fence.
Ally Gal attempted to throw down the challenge to take the lead but Bora Blue was simply too good, fending off the challenge to take the win by 0.25 lengths in a time of 30.70.
“Very happy with her run. We thought she would be hard to beat from the draw,” trainer Dargusch said.
“We'd love to draw inside as she loves the rails.”
Ipswich Anniversary Cup Heat 1 – Bora Blue (1st)
The Zambora Brockie progeny made it 11 wins from 29 starts having also won a heat in the Ipswich Young Guns series last month in 30.55.
Ally Gal finished second, Boom Boom Harley third and Don't Tell Helen fourth.
The second heat to make the final picture clearer saw a dominant performance in 30.51 from Brent Kline's consistent performer Carton Of Bear.
Going into the race, the Cutlack-trained Here Wolfe began as favourite looking to make it two on the run.
From the box and with a clear kick away, Carton Of Bear put six lengths on the field and held the lead to win over Here Wolfe.
“The box draw will determine how they can make a difference in the final, a lot of early speed in the race, but Ally Gal is fairly reliable at the track and can begin from wherever,” Cutlack said.
“Both ran on well and hopefully can take a bit from that run into next week.”
The win was Carton Of Bear's sixth from an 11-start career, and he should be heavily fancied in the final given the performance.
“He's a nice pup, that's for sure,” Kline said.
“I thought his race (on Saturday night) was terrific – the last few starts he's been involved in interference at the start of the race, so it was good to see him use the red box to his advantage and get a good start.
“It was his first 500m start, so we are expecting him to improve more in the future.
“As long as we draw inside Bora Blue, I think we will run well in the final.”