Young training star Correy Grenfell admits to shedding a tear when $22 outsider Knicks Bale defied the odds to win the Group 1 Hume Cup on November 1, the same day her legendary owner/breeder Paul Wheeler was laid to rest.
Emotions are sure to be running high again for Correy and wife Samantha at Sandown Park tonight when they have Wheeler-bred-and-owned finalists in the G1 TAB Melbourne Cup (515m) and G1 Bold Trease (715m).
Kinson Bale (Box 8) is a $13 chance in the Melbourne Cup, while Hume Cup heroine Knicks Bale (Box 5) will continue her remarkable late career resurgence in the G1 Bold Trease, where she’s at $12.
“If either of them (Kinson Bale or Knicks Bale) happens to win it will definitely be Paul (Wheeler) kicking them home.”
“If either of them happens to win it will definitely be Paul (Wheeler) kicking them home,” said Correy Grenfell.
“When Knicks Bale won the (G1) Hume Cup on the day of Paul’s funeral it was my favourite ever Group 1 win. I was watching at home and shed a tear when she won. It was meant to be.
“It’s a weird feeling watching Knicks Bale at the moment, just looking at where she is now to where she was – I (once) nominated her for a Tier 3 race!
“Kinson Bale is an underdog but I think he’s drawn to absolute perfection.
WATCH: Kinson Bale (6) show brilliant acceleration to lead all-the-way in his 29.47sec Melbourne Cup heat victory.
“In his last two wins at Sandown he’s gone 5.02sec and 5.03sec early and his second split is as good as any of the good dogs – he ran 18.69sec in his heat win.”
Andrea Dailly, who has combined with the Wheeler family to win two Melbourne Cups with Dyna Tron (2011) and Dyna Double One (2015) also has Wheeler-raced roughies in both G1 events.
Tiberia Bale (Box 7) is the outsider of the Cup field at $101, while Drako Bale (Box 8) is $26 in the Bold Trease.
G1 BOLD TREASE FINAL (715m)
Sandown Park, Friday 8:12pm
1st $105K | 2nd $30K | 3rd $15K | 4th $7.5K
1 UNTAPPED (Dustin Drew)
2 KENNY THE BRUTE (Kel Greenough)
3 MEPUNGA RUBY (Jeff Britton)
4 RUN LIKE JESS (Robert Camilleri)
5 KNICKS BALE (Samantha Grenfell)
6 GYPSY WYONG (Andrea Dailly)
7 LINE OF QUALITY (Darryl Thomas)
8 DRAKO BALE (Andrea Dailly)
Reserves
9 STANLEY ROAD (Mark Gatt) SCR
10 NIKEPHOROS (Tim Britton) SCR
G1 TAB MELBOURNE CUP FINAL (515m)
Sandown Park, Friday 8:53pm
1st $500K | 2nd $150K | 3rd $75K | 4th $37.5K
1 AUSSIE SECRET (Jason Thompson)
2 JEPARA (Angela Langton)
3 KOBLENZ (David Geall)
4 ASTON RUPEE (Glenn Rounds)
5 LALA KIWI (Andrea Dailly)
6 LAKEVIEW WALTER (Monique Whelan)
7 TIBERIA BALE (Andrea Dailly)
8 KINSON BALE (Samantha Grenfell)
Reserves
9 TYPHOON SAMMY (Jason Thompson) SCR
10 JAX BALE (Andrea Dailly) SCR
