Davidson aiming for success in Flying Amy Classic series
MARK Davidson will target the biggest feature series of his training career when the Hunter Valley mentor heads north for a crack at the Listed Flying Amy Classic at Albion Park on Thursday night.
Four heats of the feature are set to be run and won over the 520m trip, with Davidson bringing two contenders, Rapid Dominance and Trip To Eden, to the Sunshine State, both of which come into the feature with handy recent form.
Davidson rates Trip To Eden, a regally-bred son of Solve The Puzzle and Key To Eden as his best chance throughout the series, despite the youngster coming into the race with just two wins from seven starts to his name.
While he has only faced the starter a handful of times, the black dog has put in some credible performances including a 29.76 win at The Gardens and a last start second behind boom greyhound Brooklyn Bad.
“He isn't blessed with early pace but he is the strongest dog I have ever had,” Davidson told Australian Racing Greyhound.
“Once he winds up there isn't much that can hold him out and I think the bigger track at Albion Park will suit him nicely.
“His last run at Richmond was huge – he was giving Brooklyn Bad five or six lengths start and he only got beaten by a nose on the line and they have got good wraps on Brooklyn Bad.”
Trip To Eden will jump from box three in the second heat, his main competitors looking to be Fabulous Bill (box four), Blue Pointer (box six) and Dogmatic (box eight).
Davidson concedes it will be the most challenging assignment of his career to date, however he remains confident of a good performance.
“It is a big test in class for him but we decided to target this series as the Peter Mosman is on this weekend at Wentworth Park and it (Wentworth Park) is a track where you really need to be in front against that type of class,” he said.
“I think he can step up to the class at Albion Park this week and be very competitive – he is inexperienced but if he is close to them going down the back then he is going to be very hard to hold out.”
Davidson's other greyhound to watch out for is Rapid Dominance which comes into the series having won two of his last three in fast times at Gosford (29.81) and The Gardens (29.75).
“He is definitely getting stronger as he is getting older,” Davidson said.
“We had a few issues with him early on and he was getting run down all the time so we have changed a few things around with him and it seems to be working at this stage.
“His last start at Richmond was good – he got beaten by a pretty good dog and ran 30.80 himself which I was very happy with as it was the first time he had seen the track.”
Rapid Dominance will jump from box three in the first heat of the night, however he faces a tough test against star sprinter Thirty Talks which took out the Group 2 Richmond Riches last Saturday.
Davidson says the son of Cosmic Rumble and Cyprus Hill will have to do everything right at the start to be in with a shot of making the final, with a top two finish required.
“He is a dog which needs to be left alone in the first 10 or 15 metres and then he has got a lot of pace to the first turn and he can reel off some quick sections,” he said.
“If he happens to get hampered or checked early then his race is pretty much over – he is not a dog which can pick himself up and run them down because he just lacks that little bit of strength at the end.
“If he comes out like he has been at his last few starts then he may be good enough to lead – if he can get into that first turn in front then he might be able to put a bit of a gap on them.
“The one thing we don't want is Thirty Talks right behind us – if he is sitting a couple of lengths off us he will run straight past us in the home straight.”
The Flying Amy Classic heats are races one to four on the card at Albion Park this Thursday night, with the first race set to jump at 6:44pm.
Listed Flying Amy Classic – all in market
Thirty Talks – $2.75
Fabulous Bill – $6
Tripum – $7
Dogmatic – $8
Issa Cool – $10
Split Image – $12
Bogie Bekim – $16
Shadeena – $26
Spring Mystery – $26
Windorah Jack – $26
Bluey's Shout – $26
Fast Azz El – $34
Lucky Sally – $41
French Idol – $41
Trip To Eden – $41 with Bet365
Smack Deb – $41
Bye Bye – $41
Rapid Dominance – $51
Dash Ta Fame – $51
Egyptian Miss – $51
Rival State – $51
Wings Of Perlita – $51
On The Clock – $61
Blue Pointer – $61
Gelantipy Gold – $61
Smashniak Taser – $61
Boom Warrior – $61
Transkei Rocca – $101
Lady Perlita – $101
George Gallon – $101
Smashniak Smash – $101
Maywyn Pettycash – $101
Cosmo Cyndie – $101
Fabulous Cyndie – $201
Pyro Bob – $201
Fabulous Hope – $201
Yamanto – $301