Crossley’s Domination Continues
As has been reported several times over the course of 2013, John Crossley is enjoying a purple patch of form with his team at present, and it was more of same Saturday night.
While he left the track with two winners on the night, there was plenty of satisfaction of knowing that the Paradise Street Trophy and Free-For-All sprint winners were both under his care.
Boss Coin (Surf Lorian x Cheryl's Lass) has recently flirted with the longer journey at Cannington, with a win at his first try over the 642 metres in early May, leading all the way over Tree Bandit. He returned back to the sprint trips for another couple of wins before the heat of the Paradise Street Trophy series in which he was obviously successful in 37.54, defeating Din's Chappi by a head.
Leading into the $12,000 first-prize final, Boss Coin was meeting much of the same opposition again, with Tree Bandit and Din's Chappi expected to be amongst the hardest to beat. Starting from box five, Boss Coin was able to lead clearly again, and while he established a large lead for most of the journey, there were challengers coming thick and fast for the last portion of the race. However, with a bit of exposure to the extra journey, Boss Coin had improved enough to defeat the classy field in 37.31.
It brings up a 16th win for Boss Coin from his previous 18 starts, with an overall tally now reading 21 from 31 – a 67% strike rate.
Former Victorian Set Sail South has been a finalist in just about every feature event in the state over the past couple of months, and again he was gallant in defeat on this occasion. Having gradually stepped up in distance since the Mandurah and W.A Derby series by Linda Britton, it won't be long before his turn on the top of the podium comes around.
It's not often that a greyhound runs 30.12 for the 530 metres and gets beaten, however Perth Cup winner Dyna Nalin did exactly that when it fell to the hands of Crossley's younger chaser, On Coin, in the race before the trophy final. Having far too much class for the rest of the field, these two stars had the quinella parcelled up a long way from home, and On Coin was able to survive the late challenge of Paul Stuart's runner, holding on by half a length in 30.07.
Not to be outdone by the efforts of the Crossley team, Linda Britton made sure her night was worth the effort with four winners of her own amongst the twelve event card. Talk and Sit was one of those four, taking out the other 642 metre event in 37.68. The son of Talk's Cheap and Midori Fusion had been threatening to break back into a good patch of form for some weeks after it won a hat-trick of races in March. Having his first try over the middle distance trip, and straight into a Grade 4 event, Talk and Sit bolted in by 8 lengths despite a poor beginning, and all signs suggest a bright future from here on.
The same can be said for Jack O'Riley, who has taken some time to settle in W.A since arriving from Tasmania but looks to have returned to his best. Known for his early speed on the Apple Isle, the Barry Heawood-bred son of Knocka Norris was having trouble beginning cleanly at his first few starts for the Britton kennel, but has now found a groove with two wins from his past three outings. His most recent performance saw a 30.58 win, pinging out from the widest draw, leading all of the way. As he makes his way through the grades on the Metropolitan meetings, one would think a return trip to the shorter journeys of Mandurah could possibly be one the cards, on a track where early speed is worth its weight in gold.