THE heats of the Minister’s Gift have produced an interesting and even final to be run in Launceston next Monday week.
Mick Stringer will have two of the finalists in dual heat winners Captain Cosmic and Bearville Phil while the Gerard “Bear” Allford-trained Bearville Boy is the only other finalist to have won both of his heats.
Miss Heti, from the outstanding Head Bound-It’s A She litter won her heat in Devonport and made her way into the final with a second to Bearville Boy in Hobart last Thursday night.
The final is made up of the top eight point scorers from two rounds of heats (Devonport and Hobart).
Heat winners were awarded 11 points with eight for second and six for third while fourth earned four points that reduced by one point through to seventh with no points for last.
Hayley’s Reward, a Velocette-Hayley’s Magic bitch bred and owned by Ricky Ponting, made the final with a brilliant heat win last week in Hobart and she warrants plenty of respect in the final over 515 metres in Launceston.
Lashing Jake (Big Daddy Cool – Jamella Sarah) made the final with seconds in both his heats while his kennelmate Lashing Jill and Monahan Bully scraped into the final with 15 points accrued from first-round heat wins and fourths in Hobart last week.