Kayda Shae out to emulate his sire in Group 1 Adelaide Cup series
THE Kelly Bravo-trained Kayda Shae will be aiming to emulate the feat of his sire Kilty Lad when he contests a heat of the Group 1 Adelaide Cup at Angle Park on Thursday night.
Kilty Lad, a son of Superman and Sisco Train, was also trained by Bravo and took out the 2011 running of South Australia's flagship event, clocking a terrific 29.39 over the 515 metre trip.
Now his flashy red fawn son is out to do the same, with the 34 kilogram powerhouse set to contest heat three from box six, the same draw his sire used to qualify for the final four years ago.
Kayda Shae comes into the series following a second placing in the inaugural Speed Star series at Sandown Park last Thursday night, with Bravo happy with how her charge is shaping up for the Adelaide Cup series.
“He went super in the Speed Star series – to clock 29.10 at Sandown Park, you can't complain about that,” Bravo said.
“We are really happy with him. He has come up well after a couple of runs at Healesville for the Cup series and it was good to give him another couple of 500s prior to this series – they were pretty easy runs for him too, much like a trial.”
Despite the awkward draw, Bravo is hopeful that Kayda Shae has the class to feature.
“He is the main dog we were heading across to Adelaide for, unfortunately he is probably the most awkwardly drawn.
“Hopefully he can step cleanly and give himself the chance to get in the race.
“He has got one of the Dailly's dogs (Elfen Bale) on his outside which may cause him a little bit of trouble early, but I think he is probably one of the better dogs in the race so we are expecting him to go well.”
Team Bravo have four chasers heading over to SA for this years series, with the first of those to race being Percy's Lad.
A litter brother to Kayda Shae, Percy's Lad has drawn box one in heat one against superstar Dyna Double One (box eight), but is racing in consistent fashion at present.
A winner of seven from 28, Percy's Lad finished second in the Group 3 SA Derby two starts ago before running a strong third at Sandown Park last Thursday.
“Percy is one of those dogs that may not have the most ability, but he is a trier which makes him the type of dog that you want to have in your kennel,” Bravo explained.
“He was in a race at Sandown last Thursday and it was probably the hardest race he has ever contested in his life, but he still ran third.
“He probably isn't up to the top class, but he will be giving it his all.”
The regally-bred Secret Spell will represent Bravo in heat two, but is facing an uphill battle from box seven against Fever Pitch, the winner of the recent Group 3 SA Derby.
Bravo still believes she has a genuine shot with a clean beginning.
“I probably would have liked to see her draw closer to the rails – she tends to race better when she is closer to the inside – but I think if she jumps then she will be right up there,” she said.
Rounding out Bravo's assault on the series is grand old campaigner Waymore's Blues. The son of Collide and Casey's Angel is also set to jump from box seven in heat five, but, although the draw is suitable, he does have one major obstacle standing in his way – Fernando Bale.
The nine time Group winner, trained by Andrea Dailly, has drawn favourably in box three for his debut over the track and trip. The son of Kelsos Fusileer and Chloe Allen is the overwhelming $1.70 favourite with Bet365 for the entire series, with a win in the final set to make him the first million dollar greyhound in the sport's history.
Nevertheless, Bravo is confident of an honest performance from Waymore's Blues.
“Waymore's Blues is drawn ok out wide on the track because Blurred Lines (box six) usually heads straight down to the fence which should give him a nice run,” she said.
“He will give it everything he has got because he really doesn't know how to run a bad race.”
Five heats of the Group 1 Adelaide Cup will be run this Thursday at Angle Park, the first (race four) is set to jump at 8:15pm AEST.
2015 Group 1 Adelaide Cup (all-in market)
Fernando Bale – $1.70
Dyna Double One – $6.00
Kayda Shae – $8.00 with Bet365
Armed And Ready – $10
Fever Pitch – $12
Secret Spell – $17
Real Flash – $17
Shared Equity – $21
Elfen Bale – $26
Texas Titan – $26
Weston East – $34
Amaro Bale – $34
It's Classified – $34
Percy's Lad – $51
Weblec Rose – $51
Lektra Utopia – $51
West On Delly – $51
Gun Mcbain – $81
Mepunga Armagh – $101
Scarp Missile – $101
Sunday Shoes – $101
Blurred Lines – $101
Waymore's Blues – $101
Fusaichi Kahn – $151
Valladares – $151
Weblec Belle – $151
Fraya Bale – $201
Kiss The Hawk – $201
Mrs Bubbles – $201
Black Bottle – $201
Wild Soul – $301
Oakvale Flyer – $301
Peejay Jack – $301
Oz Striker – $301
Lucky Road – $501
He Isn't Really – $501
Antonio Tyson – $501
Lachlan Brown – $501
Mobius – $501
Temalor – $501