Smith pinning hopes on Jungle Deuce in Paws of Thunder Final
Jack Smith pulls no punches when comparing his runners for Saturday night's Ladbrokes Paws of Thunder Final despite little separating the duo in early betting markets.
The amiable Forbes trainer is naturally delighted to have qualified two representatives for the $75,000 Group 1 feature at Wentworth Park.
He concedes, however, that second stringer Irinka Riley (who opened at $7) is up against it in the star-studded field.
“I can't really see him figuring, irrespective of the box three draw,” Smith said matter-of-factly.
“He was very lucky in his heat when the Melbourne dog (odds-on favourite Aston Rupee) found trouble.
“Granted he was second favourite and ran accordingly but this week's race is an entirely different kettle of fish.”
Smith has his hopes of feature race success firmly pinned on kennel mate Jungle Deuce, who has drawn box four and opened at $5.50 with online bookmakers.
“I was fortunate that they both ran nicely in their heats and have come through the run well. Everything has gone to plan thus far,” he said.
“But Deuce (38 starts, 22 wins, $367,570 in stake earnings) is a class above Riley (34 starts, 9 wins, $67,255) so he's definitely my best chance.
“I don't think it's a bad box draw for him really.
“The yellow (defending Paws of Thunder champion and pre-post favourite Wow) will probably stay up the track so hopefully he'll find a nice spot going into the first turn.
“Deuce should cross Riley out of the boxes but I don't expect him to be leading. That's his preferred pattern and I'm hoping from there he can run well.”
Significantly, Jungle Deuce boasts a personal best of 29.31 for the 520m at Wentworth Park, making him the fastest dog in the elite field.
Smith rated impressive heat winners Do It (box two, $3.40) and Wow (box five, $3.20) as hardest to beat.
“It's difficult to separate them and looks like a matter of which one brings their ‘A' game on the night,” he said.
“We were the beneficiary when Aston Rupee had an off night for whatever reason last Saturday, but you couldn't see it happening to both the good ones in the final.”