Jason Thompson’s bid for a sixth victory in the Group 2 Sportsbet Warrnambool Cup (450m) next Wednesday night has suffered a huge – but not fatal – blow with the champion trainer revealing Unleash Collinda will be scratched.
Runner-up in both the Shepparton and Ballarat Cups, Unleash Collinda overcame a poor start in his Warrnambool Cup heat to record a runaway 24.96sec victory, defeating Action Girl by six lengths.
After drawing perfectly in box eight for the Cup Final, ‘The King Of Healesville’ was Sportsbet’s $4 second elect, behind record-breaking $2.20 favourite Kelsey Bale.
“He’s torn a monkey muscle,” Thompson said on Friday morning.
“I can’t officially scratch him until the fields come out. Hopefully, he’ll be back in four to five weeks.
“It’s very disappointing because I thought from that draw he would’ve been very hard to beat.
“Obviously, Kelsey Bale broke the track record and I’ve got great respect for her, but she had box one in her heat and from box five in the final she has to do absolutely everything right.
“I know Unleash Collinda is capable of running a lot quicker than he did in his heat. You can take two tenths off his time if he comes out with them and that gets him within a length of Kelsey Bale.”
Easing the blow somewhat, Thompson also has first reserve Stealth, which was runner-up in his heat to second quickest qualifier Cashing Cheques.
“It’s not the one we wanted, but it’s still a nice draw – although it was better for Unleash Collinda – and he’s a good chance,” Thompson said.
“Stealth is a good beginner and he’ll improve on last night’s run as he obviously hadn’t been there.”
Thompson’s five Warrnambool Cup winners are El Galo (2008), Hanify’s Impact (2009), Ronan Izmir (2013), Black Magic Opal (2014) and Zambora Smokey (2020).
