Quinella For Siblings in Casino MDC Regional Final
By Michael Cowley
Siblings Kooringa Lucy and Burnt Ends will both be heading south for the TAB Million Dollar Chase semi-finals at Wentworth Park on October 9 following Thursday’s Casino Regional Final.
In what was a repeat of last week’s Casino MDC heat, Kooringa Lucy got the better of her brother in the final, but as the first three placegetters in all Chase Regional Finals advance to the semis, the pair both qualified, along with third placegetter Jake’s Girl. Coincidently, that trio also finished 1-2-3 in the same order in the heat.
Last Thursday’s box draw proved to be one of the most significant ingredients in deciding the final, with Kooringa Lucy’s box one draw the key.
Burnt Ends was first to step out along with Jake’s Girl, but Kooringa Lucy took full advantage of the rails’ draw to push up into the first turn and was able to exit the turn in front. From that point the other pair were left to Chase, and neither was able to make up the leeway, Kooringa Lucy winning by a length in 27.43s from Burnt Ends, with Jake’s Girl a further ¾ length away in third.
Trainer Mitch Northfield - who raced the mother of Kooringa Lucy and Burnt Ends, Mitcharlie Mia - has had a high opinion of Kooringa Lucy for some time and travelled the bitch to Queensland for the Group 2 Futurity in December last year and to Sydney to compete in the Group 1 National Futurity at Wentworth Park in January and again for the Richmond Oaks in March. She made the final of all three events.
But a racetrack injury at Grafton in April where she hurt her shoulder, was a major setback for Kooringa Lucy and Northfield.
After five months away from the track she returned first-up for the heats last week in brilliant fashion and repeated the dose in the final.
“It didn’t do any harm did it?” Northfield said of the box one draw on Thursday.
“She went really Well again today. It was nearly a mirror run of last week wasn’t it, identical for the whole lot of them actually.
”Well we have taken the first step now and I’ll probably take her down there (to Wentworth Park) to give her another look on Saturday week, then what happens after that, I’ll have to work that out. It would be nice to get a similar draw down there in the semi-finals.”
Jeff Ahern who trains runner-up Burnt Ends was full of praise for the winner.
“They’re brother and sister, and she got the better of him, but anyway we’re there now, we’re heading down to Sydney now,” Ahern said.
“She’s a great bitch and it’s the greatest thing (training achievement) I have ever seen, for her to have won last week after being off for six months with her shoulder (injury). But it was no fluke, because he (Burnt Ends) had every hope today and he couldn’t catch her.
“We’ll now head down to Wentworth Park for a look before the semi-finals. You have to have a look at the place, you can’t put them around without having a look, but I’m just happy to have made it through.”
