Monday, December 17, 2018
Meningie trainer Tim Richards landed his first Tara Raceway double after Sketchy Gun won his way through to the Christmas Challenge final (600 m) and Blue Blaze won his first race for his new trainer in the Produce Store Stake (512 m) at Sunday afternoon’s meeting.
Sketchy Gun, a warm $2.15 favourite in the second heat on the back of an Angle Park 600 metre win last month, tracked Lady Pippa until the home turn where he unleashed a strong finishing burst to hold out Pool Hall by 1½ lengths in 35.63 seconds.
By Brett Lee out of Motown Girl, the black dog was purchased by Richards back in May 2016 for $1000 from Allan Ivers of Newcastle after two unplaced runs at Muswellbrook and Tamworth.
Ninety starts later and Sketchy Gun has now won 15 races, run 33 minor placings and picked up more than $27,000 in stakemoney, the switch to middle-distance racing in June this year resulting in four Angle Park wins and two at Mount Gambier.
Former WA chaser Blue Blaze, after two unplaced runs at Angle Park last month for Richards, was always on the pace in Sunday’s grade five event, taking over the running into the home straight and holding out Azumi Striker to win by three-quarters of a length in 30.25 seconds.
A winner at Cannington, Mandurah and Northam, Blue Blaze was purchased by Richards off an internet greyhound site early last month after the son of Banjo Boy and Unquestionably had found his way to Victoria.
And according to Richards, the win had been completely unexpected.
“He was very slow away in the two runs he had at Angle Park so I figured I had nothing to lose by giving him some box work leading up to Sunday’s race. Maybe it worked, I don’t really know, but he did come out a bit better and that certainly didn’t do him any harm,” he said.