Thursday, January 31, 2019
Candy Chimes and Rose Ali, both impressive 512 metre maiden winners at Tara Raceway last Sunday, look to be on track for a tilt at this month’s Summer Classic, a non-penalty event for dogs and bitches whelped on or after January 1, 2017.
Candy Chimes, a March 2017 daughter of Mogambo and Blossom Dior – a winner of 19 races including three over 720 metres at Wentworth Park and two at The Gardens over 715 metres – is trained at Portland by Nicole Stanley for the Champagne Partners Syndicate.
And the black bitch looks to have inherited some of her dam’s strength, judging by the manner in which she went to the line in the Laser Electrical Stake when defeating Tee Tee by two lengths in 30.31 seconds and bringing up her first win in nine starts.
Rose Ali, another March 2017 whelping, lined up from box four in the Metal Worx Stake for her first race start after joining David Peckham’s Allendale East kennels only a fortnight ago.
The black bitch found a bit of trouble early before working into second spot behind tearaway leader Tennessee Rain down the back straight and, despite using plenty of the track, finishing powerfully for a 3¾ length win in 30.20 seconds.
Raced by the breeder, Noel Mugavin of Warrnambool, Rose Ali is by My Bro Fabio out of the Group 1 winning Born Ali’s second litter which has already produced city winners in Victoria and Queensland.
Her first litter, by Barcia Bale, includes Barcali, a winner of 15 races and $229,000 in stakemoney, and Benali who has won 20 races and $148,000 while a third mating, to boom sire Fernando Bale, resulted in three dogs and five bitches last August.
Candy Chimes and Rose Ali will now clash in Sunday’s Metal Worx Stake (512 m), the latter looking well drawn in box eight but having to contend with a step up in grade after only one previous race start.
Neither Stanley nor Peckham have previously won a Summer Classic, first run in 2015, Peckham coming the closer in 2017 when running second to Hutch with Blitz And Bolt.
And with Sunday’s Fairthorne Forestry Maiden (512 m) including seven classic-age runners, this year’s Summer Classic looks to be on track to hopefully attract the required number of greyhounds to run a minimum of two heats on Sunday, February 17.