By Michael Guerin
If trainer Steve Telfer was to have dreamed up the perfect comeback performance from B D Joe it would have looked a lot like Friday night’s Avon City Ford New Brighton Cup.
Not only did the bold-going pacer justify favouritism in winning but he did so in the least stressful and harmless way possible and ticked the good manners box on the way through.
“It was about the perfect return to racing,” said Telfer, who trains with his sister Amanda.
“He stood up and stepped away, which was great and that enabled him to race handy. “And then he didn’t have to work hard because Tim moved at the exactly the right to get the lead and he won pretty easily without having to be knocked around.
“So really we couldn’t have asked for more and it should bring him on but not knock him at all.”
B D Joe never looked like being caught after strolling to the front at the 1400m although Mossdale Ben continues to look more and more at home in open class when he surged late, beating favourite Anything Goes into third, the latter’s cause not aided by a slow beginning.
There was enough to like about the runs of plenty of others but their trainer’s enthusiasm will be tempered by the extries for the NZ Cup released earlier in the day to remind them of the really big names still to return.
B D Joe sits comfortably among those names though with now nearly two full years of open class racing under his belt, a belt adorned with the scalps of most of the biggest names.
He will lead Team Telfers charge for the Cup, with Alta Wiseguy his most likely stable companion but Thursday’s Wyndham winner Aardie’s Express could also still press her Cup claims along with last night’s fifth placed Allamericanlover.
“We have seven entered for the Cup but maybe we have 3-4 who could be there without needing to improve,” says Telfer.
The night’s other feature saw an anniversary of sorts as Aardiebythehill celebrated a year in the southern stable of Diamond (Dunn) Racing when he held out Muscle Mountain in the Dyers Road ITM Ordeal Cup.
Aardiebythehill won a R56-70 race for the Dunns in his first southern start at this meeting last year but showed the benefits of a year in the big time when he stepped, led and then fought off Muscle Mountain.
The latter was a victim of friendly fire as he was badly checked at the start when stablemate Midnight Dash swung sideways directly in front of him on the front line and cost him about 20m.
While that may have also cost him the race Muscle Mountain raced up to head Aardiebythehill at the 150m mark before his early check and lack of race fitness took their toll.
While the runner-up will enormously improve, Aadiebythehill now joins the list of serious open class threats in the biggest races if and when Muscle Mountain is off his game or forgets his manners.
The other eyecatchers on Friday were Vessem remaining unbeaten when very strong through the line in the two-year-old race while the Mark Jones-trained Tokyo Rose was stunning winning Nevele R heat by nine and three-quarter lengths although the time suggested while the winner is class this may not be a great form race later in this series.
