Zammit, Daley, Hunt & Dart take out Albion Park feature race wins
A great Queensland Winter Carnival Thursday night of racing in the lead-up to next week's Brisbane Cup heats was highlighted by an upset win in the Group 3 Stayers Invitational; a Tony Zammit-trained chaser taking out The Tempest; while two of Queensland's leading lady trainers had winners in finals over the shorter distances.
In the 2023 Group 3 Super Stayers Invitational, Palawa King began as odds-on -200 favourite with online bookmakers in the field of four.
Trained by Raymond Smith, the Feral Franky x Maximum Dos dog won the Group 3 Origin Distance final last week but was left to settle for third, with Days Of Thunder coming over the top of the field in an upset Group 3 victory.
Trained by Warren Nicholls, the white Fernando Bale x Melissa's Pride bitch celebrated the victory in her 60th start and passed the milestone of $290,725 in prizemoney.
Barty Hayze ran away with the Lightning Final at Albion Park on Thursday night off the back of a Sandra Hunt training clinic.
Straight out of the boxes the Aston Dee Bee x Merlot Hayze bitch speared to the lead and gave the field something to chase for the entire 331m trip.
Jumping at +280 with greyhound betting apps at her 52nd start, she would make it 21 wins for her career in the $12,025 to-the-winner contest.
2023 The Lightning (Albion Park, 331m) – Barty Hayze (18.77) T: Sandra Hunt
The Jemma Daley trained Loquacious (+400) ran second in the final with the order reversed between the pair from the heats last week.
Loquacious, the Fabregas x Taylor Maid bitch, won their heat in the time of 18.96 and by a margin of 0.75 lengths over the Sandra Hunt-trained chaser.
The Thunder Final was a turn of fortune for trainer Jemma Daley with her dog Where's The Bar (+500) saluting in the 395m contest.
With the win, the Out Of Range x Paint dog made it 15 wins from 39 starts and cracked the $53,180 prizemoney mark.
2023 The Thunder (Albion Park, 395m) – Where's The Bar (22.58) T: Jemma Daley
Jedda Cutlack's Ally Gal, paying +1400 with online bookmakers, finished second with Boys Light Up (+380) trained by Kevin Macintosh, back in third.
Where's Johnson (+270) began second favourite for Greg Deering in the $12,025 to-the-winner race, but as the trainer said when it came to the finals his dog always seems to find trouble; no matter how well he performed in the heats.
Last week, Where's Johnson delivered the fastest time from the heats in 22.40, but it was not enough when it came time for the finals; fading to miss out on the placings.
Adulate dominated in The Tempest with a great start and a strong finish in redemption for his Group 3 Carnival Chase Final runner-up finish a fortnight ago.
The Tony Zammit dog led all the way as a +125 race favourite with greyhound betting sites at his 49th career race start.
At one point in the ace, Adulate led by as much as five lengths, before fighting off a late challenge from Wheel And Go (+270), who went down by 0.75 lengths.
Adulate won the $12,025 first prize in a time of 34.50 seconds.
2023 The Tempest (Albion Park, 600m) – Adulate (34.53) T: Tony Zammit
The Zambora Brockie x Tahlia's Way dog has now won 15 races from 49 starts, earning $115,075 in prizemoney.
Eleven of Adulate's 49 careers starts have been at Albion Park over the 600m journey, for five wins and four placings.
The Chairman's Cup worth $12,025 to-the-winner showcased some of the best chasers over the 710m trip, with the Raymond Burman trained Blue Hornet starting as -133.33 favourite at his 40th career start.
Blue Hornet seems to be relishing the longer distances now, having run at the shorter 520m to 600m range for the bulk of his racing career.
Prior to Thursday night, his last two starts had been at the 710m at Albion Park, for a third and second placing; the latter being in a Group 3 behind Palawa King last week.
Thursday night was not his night though, finishing runner-up, with the John Dart-trained Wendy Rocks at +800, taking the win.
2023 BGRC Chairman's Cup (Albion Park, 710m) – Wendy Rocks (41.63) T: John Dart
The Sennachie x Eleanor Rascal bitch has run the track and distance six times now for two wins and two placings, including a second placing in a Group 3 at the track earlier this month.