Hobart Thousand winner Slick Badger has booked his place in his fourth Group race event after qualifying fastest for the Group 2 Sportsbet Ballarat Cup in tonight’s heats.
The David Geall trained chaser stopped the clock at 25.04 seconds over 450 metres, producing a strong finishing effort to run down Galento, who was brave in defeat and advanced to the final as the fastest second placegetter.
Emerging talent Off The Chart was the second-fastest qualifier for Saturday night’s feature. Trainer Peter Presutto will be hoping to go one better after finishing runner-up in last month’s Sportsbet Warragul Cup.
Brooke Ennis enjoyed a standout night, qualifying three runners for the Sportsbet Ballarat Cup final.
Barooga Jim and Tribeca each won their respective heats, while Robison finished second behind Off The Chart to also secure a place in the Group 2 feature.
The Sportsbet Ballarat Cup headlines a huge night of racing at Ballarat on Saturday, with a strong support program also featuring the Life Members Trophy Final and Consolation, the BGRC 545m Special Event, the Cup Night Community Clubs Challenge (660m) and a special International Women’s Day race, which requires female handlers.
