King Of Calypso’s sensational winning streak continued in Monday night’s Group 2 Launceston Cup heats (515m), where the in-form Victorian visitor claimed his seventh straight win.
King Of Calypso, trained by Tim Britton, son of master mentor Robert, upstaged another Victorian, odds-on favourite Don’t Tell Bluey, prepared by Brendan Pursell, when winning his ‘sudden death’ heat in 29.78sec to qualify for Monday’s Cup final.
It was the son of Fernando Bale’s 20th win from 65 starts and eighth from his past nine.
“He’s been racing consistently and is having a bit of a dream run,” said Robert Britton.
“On times we’re running for second, but our bloke is very consistent and he’s run 29.28sec at Sandown.”
“He’s always had ability and we haven’t really spared him. We’ve raced him in the city most weeks and he would win some and lose a few but he’s put a few together now.
“He’s won a couple of midweek races, which helped build his confidence, and he’s been mixing distances between 500m and 600m, which I think suits him as well.
“It was a lot of luck that he ended up going down to Launceston. Brendan Pursell, who’s a Tassie boy, said he was going to send Don’t Tell Bluey down and he asked if we wanted to send anything.
“They both trialled at Launceston and King Of Calypso went terrible. He ran 30.07sec and Don’t Tell Bluey went 29.50sec. But he is a dog that absolutely needs to know where is, so we were hoping that’s what it was.”
LAUNCESTON CUP HEAT WINNERS (Fastest to slowest)
29.34sec Hill Top Jack
29.78sec Buckle Up Kenzie
29.78sec King Of Calypso
29.80sec Classy Lady
29.81sec Quick Joey Small
29.82sec Loch And Loaded
29.83sec Vintage Fame
30.01sec Run Red Run
Standing squarely in King Of Calypso’s path in Monday night’s $40,000 to-the-winner final is another Lara-based sprinter in Hill Top Jack, a litter brother and kennelmate to Melbourne Cup hero Koblenz, prepared by David Geall.
Hill Top Jack, a finalist in the G1 Maturity, was by far the fastest of the eight heat winners, clocking 29.34sec, more than six lengths quicker than King Of Calypso and local Buckle Up Kenzie.
King Of Calypso has drawn Box 1, from where he’s won only one of nine career outings, with Hill Top Jack alongside him in Box 2.
G2 LAUNCESTON CUP (515m)
Monday, January 31 – First prize $40,000
1 KING OF CALYPSO (Tim Britton, Lara VIC)
2 HILL TOP JACK (David Geall, Lara VIC)
3 RUN RED RUN (Debbie Cannan, Mangalore TAS)
4 CLASSY LADY (David Crosswell, Longford TAS)
5 LOCH AND LOADED (Anthony Bullock, Exeter TAS)
6 VINTAGE FAME (David Crosswell, Longford TAS)
7 QUICK JOEY SMALL (David Crosswell, Longford TAS)
8 BUCKLE UP KENZIE (Gary Johnson, Leith TAS)
Reserves
9 TWISTED REALITY (Brendan Pursell, Lara VIC)
10 HE’S SO COOL (Michael Sherriff, Latrobe TAS)
“On times we’re probably running for second, but in saying that our bloke is very consistent, and he’s run 29.28sec at Sandown, so if he gets down to that he won’t be far away,” Britton said.
“His heat win was his usual pattern; he lobs in the first three and works home, We’ll be hoping he does the same thing in the final.
“He does like to get off the track a bit, so I would’ve preferred to be drawn out but when you’re given ‘the red’ in a Group final you’re going to take it.”
Hill Top Jack is the fastest qualifier for Monday night’s G2 Launceston Cup.
