Britton Dominates 2014 Canning Trophy
Linda Britton finished first, second and third in the 2014 Canning Trophy run over the 530 metre distance, with High Recall taking out the top honours in a flying personal best time of 30.21. It was the Britton kennels second consecutive trifecta for the night.
Britton's first trifecta came in the Free For All, with Gomes defeating a very classy field. Te Amo finished second after being run down and Saving Bundles found herself in third position.
It was the final that had Linda Britton smiling from ear to ear. High Recall, handled by her trainer, flew out of the boxes in a blistering 5.57 early, slotting her into first position in front of litter sister Star Recall who jumped from box one. The race was won by the time the field hit the home corner; Star Recall made an attempt at a late lunge but was unable to reel in the leader. She had to settle for second, with Rapido Kid running into third position.
Owners Gary and Craig Weston cheered High Recall to her most impressive victory to date with a glass of red wine in hand.
“She went really good! Phenomenal first section, it was just outstanding from box eight!” Owner Gary Weston explained.
“I was worried about the one of Ben Abercrombie's (Takahashi), I thought she was going to be too strong in the end but when you run those kind of first sectionals it is pretty hard for the dogs at the back.”
“I was hopeful that's all; she hadn't run the times that a couple of the others had. She was just fantastic, all three of Linda's were.”
High Recall has had two wins from two starts since returning from her Australian Cup campaign in Melbourne. Although unsuccessful finishing fourth, the daughter of High Earner – No Recall has settled into life back home in WA without a care in the world. Saturday nights win was her 10th from 14 starts.
“Melbourne was the first time I saw her in the parade area looking focused; it didn't look like a game to her, I think that really helped.”
“Its great that she is doing this coming into events like the Oaks and the WA bred races. It's a good time for her to be running well and she is so young too. Hopefully she will stay sound and really represent Linda's kennel well.”
High Recall is known around the kennel as being a little disruptive at times, but she is well behaved compared to litter sisters Star Recall and Who's Doing What. Since being brought into the kennels the three girls have shown more maturity, with their Melbourne trip done and dusted, improvement should be eminent as they got to experience the world of Victorian greyhound racing.
Weston was not just ecstatic with High Recall's Canning Trophy win, but also with Gomes' surprise victory over the extremely talented Free For All field. Gomes jumped poorly from box one to sit on the fence in last position as the field flew past the finishing post for the first time. He camped on the tail of Saving Bundles until she allowed enough room on the rails for him to slide into second position. The son of Bombastic Shiraz – Shazlyn played catch up with Te Amo as he chipped away at her five-length lead to defeat her on the line by a length in a near personal best time of 30.45.
“Gomes just seems to have improved in his last 6 starts. He is very much suited by the inside box.”
“I didn't expect him to beat Dyna Nalin and Zelemar Fever, even to run down Te Amo for the second time was a good effort!”
Gomes is a veteran of the racing industry with 74 starts and 19 wins to his name; his spectacular win on Saturday night tipped his earnings to over $85,000. No one was happier with his win then handler Nicola Hind who fell in love with the cheeky black dog the moment she saw him. Nicola, who is currently 21 weeks pregnant still wanted to handle her favourite dog despite her newly formed belly.
“I know that Nicola really likes Gomes and she ensures us that he will have a good home with her when he finishes racing, so that always makes me feel good.”
After a great night at the track for the Britton kennels, as well as Gary and Craig Weston with both Gomes and High Recall claiming top honours; the expectations and excitement levels are high heading into next Saturday nights meeting at Cannington in hope of yet again another sensational night at the track.