Trainer Barry Gibbons believes a niggling tricep injury may have been the reason why his Group 1 winner Lilly Banner didn’t show her brilliant early speed during the Black Top series at LADBROKES GARDENS last month, but he doesn’t expect that will be a problem at the track on Saturday in the TAB Million Dollar Chase heats.
Lilly Banner, winner of the Group 1 Peter Mosman Opal at Wentworth Park in July, is normally a bullet from the boxes, but in both her heat and then in the Consolation of the Black Top, she was not the first to jump, and was unable to win either event.
But in the one run since, Lilly Banner pinged the lids, and led throughout at Wentworth Park in the best of the night time of 29.71s.
“Yeah at Wentworth Park she showed a bit of early dash again,” Gibbons said. “She was just missing that first bit in her last couple of runs at the Gardens but she’s been battling a tricep injury which took a few weeks to get it right.
“She hadn’t been to the Gardens for a while, and she was been dealing with that tricep strain, and that might have cost her a tenth early. She’s still running 4.90s (first section) but it’s hard when they are running 4.80s inside you, and she was then probably just playing it a bit cautious.
“She’s had a few starts now, and got a bit more field sense about her, and she just stayed out of trouble and left her run until late. A lot of dogs would have tried to bully their way across to the rail and come unstuck, but she played it safe and eventually managed to run a place.
“Hopefully she’s over that problem now, but in saying that she got a bit of a spike in the pen after the Wenty run and she split her webbing, so we’ve been dealing with that this week. You solve one problem and have another one to contend with. That’s the life of a trainer.
“I’ve had her on the lead this week and won’t be able to do much galloping, but her run home times have been pretty good lately so she’s fit enough, she just has to come out with them and she’ll be hard to beat.”
Lilly Banner has drawn box four in the second of three heats on Saturday at LADBROKES GARDENS, with the hardest to beat the Jason MACKAY-trained Aston Lee who owns a stunning 29.17s best at the track.
Gibbons also has starters in the two other heats, with Galaxy Banner in heat one and Old Mick Banner in heat three.
“It was good to see him back in winners’ circle and he went well at Wenty. He had a bit of luck I suppose but he pulled up really well after the run and is bouncing around,” Gibbons said of Old Mick Banner’s last start 30.16s Wentworth Park last Saturday night.
“He had about a three month period with a torn groin and was out for a while. We still haven’t got him 100 percent right but he’s getting close to full fitness. He’s on track, he’s doing everything right, his coat’s coming good again, and in one or two runs he should be back to his speed.
“He’s not a top grade dog, but he’s a handy provincial dog and he Chases hard. He’s a real tradesman who loves racing and tries his heart out.”
Old Mick Banner has also drawn box four in his heat, but will find some tough opposition in the in-form Seen Around who has won his past two at Maitland and Wentworth Park and another from the MACKAY team in Nev’s Gift who clocked 29.34s winning at LADBROKES GARDENS on Black Top Final night.
Galaxy Banner has drawn box two in her heat and will need to be at her best to match it with Geoff Grimwood’s Aston Zodiac, winner of the MACCA, the Black Top Consolation, and MACKAY’s National Futurity winner Zipping Veyron.
Galaxy Banner resumed from an eight month spell with a great second to Lightning VISION in the Black Top heats, then had no luck last start at the Gardens in the MACCA.
“She probably wasn’t ready to run a big race in the heats,” Gibbons said. “We put her in a bit underdone coming back from having a litter and with just a couple of 400s, it wasn’t the ideal preparation, so we threw her in the deep end first up.
“But she went enormous, ran a cheeky race, then drew out wide the following week and couldn’t cross from out there at that level.
“She’s well drawn on Saturday and she’s doing everything right, and I expect her to come out and run another cheeky race.”
