Injury setbacks won’t stop Mobile Legend in the 2023 Warragul Cup

Colin and Daryl Brennan believe Mobile Legend will be competitive in the final after he produced the best heat performance, crossing the line in a sizzling time of 25.46 seconds.

admits it hasn't been an easy journey for Mobile Legend across just 32 starts heading into night's Warragul Cup final.

But after overcoming a number of setbacks, the conditioner – who works alongside brother Daryl – is just grateful his three-year-old is now a competitive country cups runner.

And after drawing the three box, he is expected to compete well against the consistent Landyn Bale and – for Mark Delbridge and Daniel Gibbons respectively – on his inside.

Just being mentioned in the same sentence as those two greyhounds shows how far Mobile Legend has come in the space of only nine months.

Since the Pad series last year, the young chaser with 14 wins has overcome a high white blood cell count and a bruised hock.

“It's been a long journey. It all stemmed pretty much from the Launching Pad,” Colin Brennan told Australian Racing Greyhound.

“He went into the Launching Pad consolation and came third. It was a very disappointing run.

“And then we got his bloods tested. They weren't right, and we tackled that for six or seven weeks.”

Over almost two months, the Brennans left no stone unturned in their efforts to get Mobile Legend back to full fitness.

There were moments of frustration, but the reward is their chaser is now running excellent times.

He ran the quickest Warragul Cup heat of 25.46 seconds over the 460m distance, saluting by a comfortable 6 ½ lengths.

“We gave him antibiotic treatments to try and lower his white blood cell count,” Brennan said.

“Nothing really budged, but then we noticed he blew out one of his tonsils.

“So we removed his right tonsil. Since then he's come back better than ever.”

But then there was another hurdle he had to clear in September last year.

That was when he pulled up from his fifth place in an Adelaide Cup heat with a bruised hock.

“The Adelaide Cup was a slight hiccup. We thought it was something serious,” Brennan said.

“He must've done some damage coming out of the boxes. He drew the red.

“But thankfully it was just a bruised hock, so we moved on that.

“As far as injuries have gone, a bruised hock has been his major injury.

“But it's still a setback. We've had to go through the process of giving him time off and working on the injury, and then getting him back up to fitness.”

For all their hard work and attention the Brennans have given their talented three-year-old, Colin believes it has all been worth it.

Mobile Legend is now in very good form, winning three of his past four starts, while also making a strong impression on the training track.

“He's been trialing the house down. Some of the times he's been doing have been unbelievable,” Brennan said.

“The journey as a trainer has been a , but we couldn't be happier with where he is at the moment.

“Unbeknownst to the public or punters, he's a different dog now compared to before.

“I think the past six weeks he's really matured.

“They always say 2 ½ to three years old they mature and become a different dog.

“He's definitely a different dog now.”


Warragul Cup Heat 2 Race Replay – 6/1/23

1st: Mobile Legend (7) – 25.46sec


Mobile Legend has been starring in trackwork from the three box.

This familiarity with that starting position should help him in the Group 2 Warragul Cup Final worth $67,000.

“Three is where he runs on the track,” Brennan said.

“A lot of the time when we trial him solo, we run him from three because he'll just do a straight run on the .

“He seems to also come out straight – he doesn't crash the rail or drift out.

“So he's positioned well.”

Another reason Brennan is confident about Friday night is because he believes – when at full health – Mobile Legend is one of the more talented dogs he has trained over a span of three decades.

“Daryl and I have been in this sport for 30 years, and I think we've made over half a dozen country cups over the years,” he said.

“But we've only made them with grade-five dogs. We've never gone into finals confident, but we're going into this race confident.

“That's because we know we've got a dog with the goods.”

Brennan also believes Mobile Legend has become a well-rounded dog over his past five races.

The sprinter has improved both his starts and the way he finishes, as evident in the way he ran home so strongly in his convincing Warragul Cup heat last Friday.

“Looking at his past five starts, he's pretty much nailed the start,” Brennan said.

“But his run home was very impressive.

“I don't know if it was the best, but it was up there.”

Brennan said if Mobile Legend can again start well, he would be hard to beat on Friday night.

“If he can get around that first turn positioned well and in the first three, he's a good chance of running them down, I think,” he said.

“Because that is an asset of his – his strength.

“He can definitely run out the 460. But he's put himself in the race now with his box manners.

“Before he was a little bit tardy. So his run home is probably his asset.

“It's his trump card. If he's positioned well, he might be a chance to run over the top of them.”

As well as the hurdles Mobile Legend has overcome, Brennan said he has also pushed through some mental challenges.

“Looking at him now, he's much better now than what he was,” he said.

“And he was an anxious dog at the start – the breed is an anxious breed.

“Now he's grown out of that, and he's turned into a nice type.”

As well as Landyn Bale and Titan Blazer, Brennan said Matt's Hope for could also pose a threat from the eight box in the Warragul Cup.

The two-year-old has eight career wins from 12 starts there.

“I know there are some good dogs in it. Matt's Hope is probably boxed well out there,” the Victorian conditioner said.

“There's not much pace around him. But I think he (Mobile Legend) has got the strength to run over the top of that if he's there on the first turn.”

Meanwhile, Dragon Inn won convincingly over 525m for Brennan at The Meadows on Wednesday, crossing the line in 29.76 seconds and prevailing by 3 ½ lengths.

It was just the second start for the 21-month-old chaser, winning both of those.

“We had a smart one, Dragon Inn at The Meadows. His second start and he ran 29.76 seconds,” Brennan said.

“So he's probably the next star coming through the kennel.

“He'll definitely improve on that. He was a second-stringer to Mobile Legend, but now he's probably just as good.

“He's only 20 months old, so there's huge room for improvement with him.

“To do his times now, he'll easily get six lengths on them.”

Mobile Legend Odd's In Warragul Cup Final At Warragul

Race 8 – SilkMobile Legend (3)

Form: 51131 | Career: 32: 14-4-5 | Trainer: Daryl Brennan

$3.90 with Bet365

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