Balliang’s “Team Delbridge” (Mark and Lisa) will launch a strong challenge in heats of the Mepunga Oaks (450m) and Aston Derby (450m) at Warrnambool on Thursday night.
The Delbridge juggernaut was momentarily ‘derailed’ at Wannon Park last Saturday when superstar Jarick Bale was tailed off in the Ray Drew Memorial – albeit they did salute with Daksha Bale and went 1-2 with Spring Ammo and Jasmin Bale.
One night earlier, it was also a ‘mixed bag’ when Landyn Bale landed a Warragul Cup heat and Spring Bart took out a Mixed 6/7.
But Elite Alex (3rd), Ferocious Caitty (5th) and Mirabella Bale (6th) were unsuccessful in their respective Warragul Cup heats.
However, they’ll be hoping to get things ‘back on the tracks’ with Mirabella Bale and Whitley Bale (Heat 1 – Race 5, 7.16pm) and Krystal Bale (Heat 2 – Race 6, 7.31pm) in the Oaks and with Elite Alex (Heat 1 – Race 7, 7.52pm) and Zoha Bale (Heat 2 – Race 8, 8.16pm) in the Derby.
Mirabella Bale (Box 3) – a G2 Laurels Classic finalist and 11 from 30 – and Whitley Bale (Box 5), seven from 27 including a 29.83sec (Best) win at The Meadows last weekend, will face-off with Xoie Bale (Box 8), seven from 16 and a slick 29.79sec (Best) winner at The Meadows on New Year’s Eve.
Meanwhile, Krystal Bale (Box 2) – six from 28 and a litter sister of Mirabella Bale – will attempt to match motors with star prospect Responder (Box 1), five from 10, which clocked a smart 29.33sec win at Sandown Park on December 1 prior to a scorching 23.71sec (Best) win at Bendigo last Friday.
Elite Alex (Box 3), seven from 13, leads the Delbridge charge in the Derby heats. A G3 Great Chase finalist, he also boasts impressive wins at Sandown Park (29.27sec) and The Meadows (29.84sec) on his CV.
He was also a heavily supported $1.60 favourite when third to High Tribe Rico in a Warragul Cup heat last Friday.
Elite Alex will face stiff opposition from Nehalem (Box 4), nine from 15, and Incineration (Box 2), six from 16.
And Zoha Bale (Box 2) – seven from 19 and a litter brother of Whitley Bale – takes on a tough task against Tinker Norm (Box 1) – six from 12 and a reserve for the G1 Silver Chief – Mr. Beets (Box 5) – six from nine and beaten favourite in the Warrnambool Summer Sizzle – and Great Chase finalist Westar Commander (Box 6), five from 10.
This year sees the third running at Warrnambool of the Mepunga Oaks and the Aston Derby series. Both races were added to the club’s racing calendar to bolster the opportunity for quality greyhound racing to continue throughout January.
WATCH: Elite Alex (B8) produces an ‘elite’ 29.84sec win at The Meadows on December 31.
The winner of both the Mepunga Oaks and Aston Derby finals (both on January 19) claim not only a $7500 first prize but also an added incentive of the Mepunga Oaks winner receiving a choice of a Mepunga Blazer or Mepunga Cruzer breeding straw, with the runner-up receiving the remaining. Both courtesy of local breeding doyen and GRV Hall of Fame inductee, Barry Smith.
And leviathan breeder-owner Ray Borda has been kind enough to continue his support with the donation of a straw/service from Aston Fastnet to the winner of the Aston Derby.
“The club is fortunate to have two of the predominant breeding prefixes in ‘Mepunga’ and ‘Aston’ support these races and we thank Barry Smith and Ray Borda for their ongoing support,” WGRC general manager Craig Monigatti said. “Without support from people of this ilk the club would be less likely to attract the quality greyhounds it has been able to.”
Last year’s Aston Derby was in fact won by Mepunga Mustang (owned by Barry Smith and trained by Jeff Britton), which also finished third in the Warrnambool Cup final, while the Mepunga Oaks was won by Impulse Buy (trained by Emily Azzopardi).
“The Warrnambool Greyhound Racing Club has enjoyed a bumper Seaside Festival and looks forward to continuing having good crowds and quality racing through the remainder of January,” Monigatti added.
WATCH: Whitley Bale (B4) clocks a 29.83sec (Best Of Night) win at The Meadows last Saturday.
