Sultana The Danger In Richmond Oaks
Whilst the spotlight will shine on Wentworth Park this Saturday night for the Group One Peter Mosman series, across the other side of Sydney the girls will also be racing for the dazzling dollars with eight of the region's best bitches hoping to snare victory in the Richmond Oaks final. Carrying a terrific $20,000 winner's purse the event will certainly be an interesting affair, with all of the runners having experience at the Richmond circuit.
Qualifying for the final with the fastest heat win last week is the Kristy Sultana prepared Hidden Danger who has drawn out wide in the pink. The daughter of on-fire sire Knocka Norris began with the field from box six in her heat and was crossed in the early stages by Vivian Bale, however was able to gain momentum to join the leader on the first turn before finding the lead down the back straight. From there the pint sized powerhouse was never in danger stretching out to dominate the event by four lengths in a slick 30.54 seconds for the 535 metre distance. The red fawn bitch has only had nine starts on the racetrack but has managed to notch up four wins in that time, with all her other starts resulting in placings. The youngster also has an impeccable record at Richmond with three starts for three wins with a personal best of a sizzling 30.47 seconds. An added advantage for Hidden Danger is her ability to ping the lids. Whilst last week she did dwell slightly she is more than capable of jumping with the field and with her excellent turn of foot she should be able to avoid interference in the run to the first turn and challenge for the lead.
Sultana has a two pronged attack on the feature this year with the handy bitch Sydenham Pearl also making it through albeit drawn poorly in box five. The Londonderry chaser ran a great race last week to finish second to Amadeus Strikes after galloping on the heels of Stylish Fringe during the run to the first turn which nearly resulted in the 27 kilogram lightweight taking a tumble.
After being relegated back to fifth position, the black bitch did a spectacular job to regain her feet and finish off strongly six and a quarter lengths behind the winner. Sydenham Pearl has developed into a nice little greyhound for Sultana as a winner of five races from fifteen starts and a best time of 30.65 seconds over the track and distance whilst she has also clocked good winning times at Wentworth Park (30.38 seconds) and Dapto (30.33 seconds). The two and a half year old daughter of Just The Best and Sydenham Rocks is very strong and will be storming home late.
Sultana's biggest threat is the Steve White trained Amadeus Strikes who has been a terrific bitch for her Nowra Hill mentor winning fourteen of her forty three starts with an additional fifteen placings also accumulated during that time. The daughter of champion sire Bombastic Shiraz has really developed mentally over the past few starts, transforming from being tardy early to pinging the lids in recent appearances. Amadeus Strikes took out her heat impressively last week from the checks, spearing the lids and setting up a break over her opposition to score emphatically in a speedy 30.74 seconds. The three year old campaigner is certainly the class runner of the series competing in three group finals throughout her career including two runner up placings earlier this year in both the Group Two Gosford Gold Cup behind Free Will and The Group Three Ambrosoli (Golden Easter Egg Consolation) behind super Victorian Spud Regis. The superbly bred bitch has shown all along that she is the real deal which was highlighted two starts ago when clocking a scintillating 29.70 seconds over the 520 metres at Wentworth Park and she will only need to begin cleanly to be a genuine threat in the race.
Money is also expected to be coming for both three and seven with both Princess Black and Shanghai Rose solid in their runs last week finishing second in their respective heats. Princess Black is a Wentworth Park winner in a blistering 29.59 seconds winning ten from twenty two for John Heard. The bitch by Give Me Five is on the comeback from a form slump when racing in hot company at Wentworth Park earlier this year, clocking two hot wins at Richmond defeating the brilliant Double Twist last month (30.47, 30.59 seconds). Industry blueblood Shanghai Rose will also be kept safe with the daughter of Elite Oriental a promising young bitch in the astute hands of Christine Oldfield. With eleven wins from twenty seven starts and a strong record from out wide she should play a good part in the results.
Calm Model was a heat winner last week in a respectable 30.85 seconds but will need to find a bit at the beginning, giving away a fair bit to her competitors in the early stages.
The Bess Electrical Richmond Oaks will jump at 9:21pm this Saturday night. With such an action packed night of racing in Sydney be sure not to miss the girls fly in what is sure to be a thrilling final.