Sapphire Surprise Victor In Gawler Breeders
Nirimba Sapphire staked its claim as one of South Australia's most promising young chasers after a dominant win in the 2011 Gawler Breeders' final held earlier this week.
Starting from box seven, Nirimba Sapphire was able to hold out the well credentialed Goosebumps ($2.40 fav) to the first turn and had established a five length break entering the back straight. From there it was a case of ‘catch me if you can', and with most of the opposition getting in each others' way, there was no way the race was slipping from her grasp.
Crossing the line over three lengths in front of Goosebumps, in a time of 30.66, it was a handy win considering the quality of the opposition and perfect timing for trainer, Z. Wudarczyk, who only took over training duties at the beginning of this series.
Her starting price of $15.10 on Tattsbet comes as a surprise in hindsight as the product of Big Daddy Cool and Nirimba Cool had already notched up four wins and three minor placings from only eight starts before this event, and went on to win this final in easy fashion.
Having already scored three wins at Angle Park, it's hard to see Nirimba Sapphire having trouble winning her way through the grade in coming months.
The promising Hannah Mclaren ($2.50) was one of those in the beaten brigade, and after beginning fairly, she found trouble on several occasions and never made an impact. As was also the case for Dancing Jay Lo ($7.20), who was also given a good chance by punters after a dashing heat win the week prior. But like many in the race, she too became a recipient of interference but still battled on nicely to grab third placing.
Another eye-catching performance on the Tuesday afternoon program included that of Aston Thomas. A recent addition to the state, the Ray Borda-owned dog came across from Victoria after failing to break its maiden on the provincial circuit. It appears however, that the relocation to the kennels of Troy Murray was a smart move.
The wonderfully bred son of Where's Pedro and Elite Oriental has since racked up two sub 31-second wins in a row at the track after taking out Tuesdays' maiden final in a canter from box one. If he can transfer that form to Angle Park then he may be a force to be reckoned with.
In the last event on the card, it was a welcome sight to see Cascada Star grab a win on the Gawler circuit. After an interstate 700-metre campaign earlier in the year, this classy bitch was struggling to find her best form of late and continually found herself being beaten as favourite. But local punters were still happy to take her on trust and send her out a $1.30 elect over the 643m race.
This time there was no stresses for those that took the short odds, as she bounded to the front and displayed her talent for all to see in a smart 37.80. Let's hope Gawler gets another chance to see the fawn stayer in action in the not-to-distant future.