Bewildering stunning in Speed Star romp


Bewildering set Sandown Park alight last night to score a scintillating victory in the group 3 Bill Collins Speed Star match race series.

The last start Warrnambool Classic winner stopped the clock in a stunning 29.119 – the fastest time of 2017 – to claim the $15,000 prize.

“For him to come out and do what he did, I’m totally ecstatic,” said his trainer Seona Thompson.

“I saw the first split and I was wrapped. I saw the second split and even more wrapped. Then I was just hoping he could take it to the line like he did on Sunday and he did.”

Remarkably, it was Bewildering’s first win in six starts at Sandown Park. He qualified for the series after a slick 29.175 trial last Sunday, making him the highest ranked chaser entering the night and was heavily supported into $2.70 favouritism for the series. Ominously, Thompson believes there’s more improvement in ‘Archie’, who took his career earnings to $110,000 from just 13 career starts.

“He tracked quite wide in the straight which was a little bit surprising. I think he just came around the home turn a little quick and his wheels were spinning!

“He just keeps getting better. He’s still only a baby and he just loves it, just loves to go racing and is a joy to have in the kennel.”

Thompson had three runners in the Bill Collins Speed Star with all three winning their respective matches and pocketing $10,000 each. Black Mumbo won the other match in 29.251 for Anthony Karabitsakos to finish second overall and claim an additional $6000.

Jason Thompson discusses Bewildering’s stunning match victory (includes replay)

Just two races later, Thompson was back in the winner’s circle when Burn One Down turned in one of the most amazing runs seen over the 595m in the $36,000 group 3 Racecallers.

   WATCH: Burn One Down wins the group 3 Racecallers

Resuming after a 10 week layoff, Burn One Down bombed the start and was a clear last through the first turn. He began picking his way through the field down the back straight but with 150m to go still trailed the leader by 6 lengths. Turning for home, Burn One Down unleashed a finished burst reminiscent of the great Bold Trease to storm around the outside of the field and win by a length.

The win was all the more remarkable given the quality of the opposition – the field included four group 1 winners and had almost $2m in career prize money combined.

“He was super excited when I got him out tonight. He’s been sitting at home for a long time, he was pretty excited to be back at the track,” continued Thompson.

“He’s so intelligent. For a dog to be where he was and navigate his way through an unbelievable field and win by a length is incredible. I think he showed just how good he is tonight.”

With the heats of the $250,000 RSN Sandown Cup – the world’s richest race for stayers – just a week away, Thompson was cautious about her plans for Burn One Down.

“I would love to have him here next week in the Sandown Cup but I’m going to let the dog tell me if he’s ready or not, I’m not going to rush him in to something that he’s not ready for. I’m not saying he won’t be here next Thursday night, but we’ll wait and see how he pulls up over the weekend. He’s still 50/50.”

Thompson narrowly missed a clean sweep of the night’s triple features when Dundee Calypso held off Trip To Eden in the $36,000 group 3 Lizrene (715m). It was Dundee Calypso’s fourth straight win over the distance and will go into next week’s RSN Sandown Cup heats as one of the form stayers in the country.

   WATCH: Dundee Calypso wins the group 3 Lizrene

Click on the links below for replays of each of tonight’s match races:
Nature’s Gent defeated Riveting
Bewildering defeated Princess Pout
Black Mumbo defeated Flyrite
Aston Dee Bee defeated Eminent Reality

 

Click here for full results for the meeting.

 

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Mick Floyd
About Mick Floyd - Mick is the Racing and Media Manager at Sandown Park and has 15 years of experience in the sport. He has a finely tuned talent for finding three legs of a quaddie. You can follow his ramblings on Twitter - @mickfloyd
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