Halse duo fit and firing ahead of Group 2 WA Derby

QUICK Jagger set tongues wagging once again on Saturday night with another dominant display at Cannington in a heat of the Group 2 WA Derby (520m).

Trained by leading conditioner Chris Halse, the black dog was only fairly away from box three but quickly barged his way into second spot.

Racing down the back straight the son of Dyna Nalin and Saving Bundles sprinted past the leader Ouchamp – kicking clear to score by four-and-three-quarter-lengths in a blistering 29.59.

It was his second successive win following a scintillating 29.29 track record romp the week prior.

Halse was full of praise for his powerhouse sprinter, the fastest of four heat winners heading into the $40,000 series.

“He is a special type of dog – hopefully he starts to get his box manners right and he could become a competitive dog at the highest level,” Halse told Australian Racing Greyhound.

“He went across to Sandown Park for the Launching Pad and he had to learn how to weave his way through fields – he did a few things wrong but he is the complete dog when he puts it all together.

“He isn't two yet so there is still a while to go and it will all depend on how he grows up and handles the knocks of racing.

“We've pretty much kept him to restricted class racing where he has proven to be competitive and there is the chance he might get better when he goes against faster dogs – we just don't know yet – but he is definitely exciting.”

Halse will be represented by two runners in the final, also putting the polish on promising youngster Vanderwop.

The son of Kelsos Fusileer and Perth Cup finalist High Recall has only had five starts and is now a winner of three races – his 29.88 heat victory on Saturday night a new personal best.

“He is really young so is still learning what its all about,” Halse said.

“It is especially exciting with him because we bred him ourselves so its great to see him racing so well.

“The best thing about him is he seems to have plenty of early speed – so if he can maintain that throughout his career then it will be a massive advantage.”

Heading into the final, Halse found it hard to split his pair after the box draw – but says on times Quick Jagger has the upper hand.

“At this stage Quick Jagger is a lot faster, but box six obviously isn't the best draw.

“Vanderwop is drawn really well in box one so if he can begin well and get up near the front then they are going to have to catch him.

“With that being said if Quick Jagger doesn't find any trouble he will probably go straight past him – I think he would run past most dogs going around at the moment.

“We are just hoping for some luck, but it should be an exciting race.”

The remaining heats were won by Pyredos Monelli (29.69) and Max Profit (29.69).