Valenti’s Spot On Victory In Anniversary Cup
Spot On Pedro received his first piece of silverware after taking out the Greyhounds WA Northam Anniversary Cup over the 509 metre trip for trainer Ricky Valenti.
David Hobby's Sharon Monelli led the field early, narrowly missing trouble behind her, and paving a rails run for Spot On Pedro who found himself four dogs deep heading onto the first bend. The pair pulled away from the field with veteran Big Jo King not far behind. Sharon Monelli broke down four lengths in-front allowing Spot On Pedro the chance to charge home for the win in a new race record time of 29.42s.
Old timer Big Jo King ran on to run second with David Hobby's second entrant coming in to run third.
“I knew he would win it when he turned into the back straight and he got into second place because he is as strong as. Even though Sharon Monelli was in front I was pretty sure he was going to run her down even if she didn't do her hock” Winning trainer Ricky Valenti said.
“He just found his way through and everything fell into place for him”.
“It took a bit of shine off the race with David Hobby's dog Sharon Monelli breaking her hock because she is such a good bitch”.
Valenti sympathises with Hobby's situation, comparing it to the time his chaser Scuttlebut fell victim to the Cannington racetrack.
“I was devastated when Scuttlebut did her hock, but you get a lot highs and a lot of lows and its just part of the parcel”.
Scuttlebut only had 46 starts for 18 wins before injuring herself. She managed to claim victory over four different distances in her career, with the 715 metre trip her most successful; only running unplaced once.
The messy encounter not only saw Sharon Monelli pull up injured, but John Carmody's chaser Dodge Challenger fall on the first corner.
Son of Where's Pedro – Unique Daisy qualified the fastest of the heats the previous week to secure his spot but not favouritism in the final.
Jumping from box seven the white and black dog surprised Valenti with his win, making it four wins from four starts over the 509 distance.
“Overcoming the box draw would have to have been the biggest challenge even though they where all good dogs”.
The talented field was made up of dogs including this years Mandurah Oaks winner Sharon Monelli, as well as Egotistical who has won 12 from 19 starts.
“I also had Kenny Powers to my outsides who loves to crash left”.
Valenti's son Jason, who has just received his catchers licence, had the most confidence in Spot On Pedro before the race, even having a sneaky $5 bet on him for the win.
“It means a lot to the family especially my son Jason, he has always wanted to win a trophy and rug and we won it today so he is wrapped”.
“He was very confident along with my wife but I just thought it was too hard from box seven”.
Winner of six from 26 starts Spot On Pedro has raced around Victoria as well as all three tracks in WA, with his track of choice being Northam.
“He is a different dog at Northam that's for sure, he finds his way through the field, I don't know what it is, he could just like racing during the day”.
“I take him to Cannington and I can't even win a Kanyana with him, but I still think he is a champion”.
Valenti took in Spot On Pedro as a favour since Kody Charles didn't have enough room in his kennels to originally take him.
Spot On Pedro may be just two and a half years old but he is certainly not small, tipping the scales around 37 kilos, so clumsiness is almost a given.
“He is a bit clumsy but he does show a lot of track sense at Northam”.
“He can be a bit tarty out of the boxes, it can take him about 20 metres to build up”.
A step up in distance is what's next for the big white and black dog; he has had two starts over 588 metres without a win under his belt but showed promise when he was run down by Kody Charles' chaser Lukey Fields.
“It's just a little bit awkward for him because the boxes are on the corner”.
The two-hour drive from Barragup to Northam seems worth it considering Spot On Pedro now holds the fastest winning time in a Northam Cup.