Tassie’s rising star Thirteen Black proved he will be the one to beat in the Right Price Meats Cup final at Tattersall’s Park in Hobart next week following an impressive win in a heat last night.
The Leigh Wood-trained dog began tardily from box four and settled worse than midfield but he zipped through the gaps and despite checking off the heels of the leader he went on to score by just over three lengths from race leader Stack of Tigers with Winklee Brooke two lengths astern.
Thirteen Black’s litter brother Zooper (Bond-Smart and Sassy) also made light work of winning his heat.
Zooper flew the lids from box eight and extended his lead at every turn to eventually go on and score by over eight lengths in a small field of only six.
His time of 26.42 was the quickest of the nigh and almost three lengths quicker than his litter brother, although, unlike his brother, Zooper had an uninterrupted passage.
It took a desperate last-stride dive to win but that’s all Tasmanian newcomer Embrocadero had to do to claim a berth in next week’s final over 461 metres at Tattersall’s Park.
Embrocadero (Premier Fantasy-Swift Flyer) had been racing in Queensland where he won a heat of the John Young Memorial at Ipswich and went on to finish a luckless fourth in the final.
He followed up with two minor placings at Ballarat in Victoria before finding his way to Mick Stringer’s kennels at Magra.
The powerful black dog began only fairly from box three at his Tasmanian debut but he mustered good speed to be camped on the leader nearing the top turn.
When Millie’s Wine booted clear in the straight she looked set to win until Embrocadero’s emerged to snatch victory at the shadows of the post.
Premeditated also made an impact in winning his Cup heat.
The former Victorian has only had three starts for Rokeby trainer Ian Callinan but all have been full of merit, in particular this latest effort.
Premeditated began his career in Queensland with a win at Ipswich on debut and more wins followed at his second preparation.
Callinan was upbeat about the dog’s future in Tasmania after he stopped the clock at 26.51 which was substantially better than most other heat winners.
Hellyeah Jacko (1) led all the way to win his heat in a time of 26.68 and the Leigh Wood-trained Icy Popsicle almost mirrored that effort clocking 26.69 on her way to a 1-1/4 length win over Moorilla with Kialdu Grace over two lengths astern.
Another newcomer to the state Shanlyn Banjo won his heat to make it two wins for the week having been successful at his Tassie debut in Launceston three nights prior.
Shanlyn Banjo is raced by the Victorian-based Houndog syndicate and resides at Graeme Moate’s kennels.
It was a game heat win as he was forced to barge a passage between the two leaders to get a clear run and he had just enough in reserve to stave off a late bid by Tour de Lance to defeat that dog by a half-head with Buckle Up Toby just over two lengths astern.
Shanlyn Banjo (Pure Octane-Shanlyn Maddy) has only won five times from 40 starts but he has amassed 17 minor placings in his home state.
His heat time of 26.69 was around the mark that will make him very competitive in this week’s final.
The final heat was taken out by Casual Force that led throughout to defeat Gun Burner by over six lengths in a time of 26.55.