By JASON ADAMS
Bazza’s Gift landed his biggest punch yet at Sandown last Thursday night, claiming the Macro Meats free-for-all in a personal best time of 29.54 for trainer Neil Bell.
Bazza’s Gift began well from the inside alley, giving himself plenty of room early to lead first time past the post closely followed by Jack Silver and Coolan Blue.
The son of Velocette and Mojo Glory never looked threatened leading clearly down the back straight, before being challenged by Shadow Lane in the later stages of the race, saluting at healthy odds of $19.80.
“He’s the type of greyhound that needs no interference early, luckily he began well enough to avoid the trouble and lead all the way” said Bell. “I gave him a run over the 600m at The Meadows last week just to get a bit more fitness into him, glad I did because he sure has rewarded me for it.
The win added to his already impressive Sandown Park record, making it four wins from just the eight starts, elevating his prize money total to $33,495.
Group 1 winner and brother of Bazza’s Gift Marcus Joe found trouble early finishing sixth.
“I really think he can be something special, his brother Marcus Joe has already won a Group 1 race and Bazza’s Gift has beaten him three times.”
With the Australian Cup at The Meadows just around the corner, it’s something that’s on Bell’s agenda for his talented chaser.
“I’ve nominated him for the Australian Cup heats, although I’m not sure if he will go straight into a heat or whether we will have to compete in a prelude first..
At not even three years of age, Bazza’s Gift still has plenty of racing ahead of him and will no doubt be a regular in future feature race series.”
