Underrated sprinter Benchester put his name up in lights with a track record run over 385 metres at Shepparton last night.
Benchester, pictured above with trainer Mark Morrissey, got out like a rocket and clocked a time of 21.42sec, lowering Italian Plastic’s track record by .02sec.
“When he went straight to the lead out of the boxes I was pretty excited to see what time he would run,” Morrissey recalled.
“He holds the split record (10.00sec) at Horsham over the 410m distance, and he has run quick time at a few provincial tracks.”
A son of Magic Sprite and Dewana Babe, Benchester has won 18 races from 40 starts, so far making one group race final – the 2020 G2 Shepparton Cup (450m) when finishing fourth to Hard Style Rico.
The Junortoun sprinter is in a rich vein of form, amassing six wins from his past eight starts.
“I think he might be a little bit underrated. He was only narrowly beaten by Whiskey Riot in a Shepparton Cup heat,” Morrissey said.
Having done all of his racing on Victoria’s provincial circuit, Benchester could soon be headed for his first start in town.
“The ultimate aim is to race him at The Meadows. He has trialled well there, but he might struggle over the last 100 metres against the really good dogs,” Morrissey said.
In the meantime, Benchester will return to Shepparton for Saturday night’s Northern Districts Cup meeting, in which he is being set for the Dash For Cash Special Event (385m), worth $6,500 to the winner.
WATCH: Benchester (4) begins beautifully on his way to claiming Shepparton’s 385m track record.
