Connections of Spring Value and Saint Maddie, both impressive winners at last Sunday’s Tara Raceway meeting, now have their sights set on the Michelle Niele Memorial Dual Distance Challenge, heats of which will be run over 512 metres on Sunday, March 7.
Spring Value, owned and trained at Killarney by Kevin Mugavin, staged a great battle with Tracie Price’s Christmas Cup winner Golly Gumdrops in the Produce Store Open Stake (512 m) before running out a length winner in a best of day 29.72 seconds.
Mugavin, who no doubt will looking at April’s Mount Gambier Cup with his son of Spring Gun and Magic Matese, said his plan was to now run Spring Value in the Niele Memorial, the final of which will be run over 600 metres with $1000 added money on Sunday, March 14.
The brindle dog won his maiden (512 metres) at Mount Gambier’s cup carnival in March 2019. Since then he has raced at the track on a further 14 occasions for nine wins with a best time of 29.44 seconds.
And while he’s had limited racing over 600 metres, Mugavin said the rising four-year-old would have no difficulty in handling the middle-distance journey.
Saint Maddie, trained at Glencoe by Dean Fennell, impressed when leading all the way for a 9½ lengths win in a quick 35.04 seconds in the Klaassens Contractors Mixed Stake (600 m).
By Peter Rocket out of Miss Lava, a winner over the middle-distance at Sandown Park and Mount Gambier, Saint Maddie looks the ideal type for the dual distance series after having defeated Spring Value a fortnight earlier over 512 metres.
