Brother Fox Dubbo Cup night at Dawson Park on May 28 established a prizemoney record for a New South Wales country track, with Jack Smith’s Jungle Deuce prevailing in the $40, 000 to-the winner feature.
On Saturday, four finals highlight the 12-race card and, with just over $38, 000 on offer, it’s the club’s second richest race meeting on the calendar and the quality is top shelf.
After his near-record win in the cup, Jungle Deuce ventured to Albion Park and was imperious over three weeks – closing the northern sojourn when securing the State Of Origin Series for NSW on June 3, after snaring the Group 2 Flying Amy Classic seven days earlier.
Jungle Deuce After Securing the State of Origin Series for NSW in June
Now, it’s Miss Ezmae, Jungle Deuce’s kennelmate, who is in the spotlight.
The daughter of Barcia Bale added the 717m record at Richmond to her impressive score on September 12 – her third track record at start 16 - and Smith will be eyeing a return to Wentworth Park for the Group 1 Sydney Cup next month but at hand is Saturday's 516m assignment at Dubbo.
While Smith might have preferred a middle distance hit-out before his Wentworth Park mission, Miss Ezmae has drawn favourably in Box 2 in the Ladbrokes Red Dog Bonus (Race 7) and she is no stranger to Dubbo’s 516m.
Her quality is crystal clear, but there will be no second chances in the $8, 100 to-the-winner sprint.
Boxed to Miss Ezmae’s outside is the in-form Memphis Keeping. Only last month, Memphis Keeping held Jungle Deuce at bay at Dubbo in a sharp 29.58 and has since posted a near record 29.35 all-the-way win at The Gardens.
Punters will be expecting Memphis Keeping to lead, and the question is: can Miss Ezmae find clear air and track him down if he’s posting something in the realm of his 29.55 PB?
The action-packed 12-race card kicks off at 5.44pm with the Ladbrokes Country Challenge over 318m, in which Tarnie (Box 2), the fastest qualifier, is the one to beat.
