By MICHAEL FLOYD
FERNANDO Bale became just the second dog to break the 29 seconds at Sandown Park with an emphatic victory in a heat of the group 1 Harrison-Dawson at Sandown Park on Thursday evening.
In a dazzling display of sustained speed, Fernando Bale equalled the first split record then went within 0.02 seconds of his own second split record before crossing the line in 28.98 seconds – just 0.02 seconds outside of Bekim Bale’s long standing track record.
“Each time he comes here he gets better and better… he’s perfect in every way, you just can’t fault him, he’s just amazing,” said his awestruck trainer Andrea Dailly.
RSN Racing and Sport race caller James Van de Maat was equally emphatic in his assessment of the run.
“He’s the best I’ve seen,” he said.
“I was hoping he’d break the record.
“He looks like he’s improving with each run too so I can’t wait to see what he can do next week.”
Fernando Bale opened a $1.55 chance with tab.com.au and was backed into $1.25 before easing to his $1.40 starting price. It was the 17th time in his 21 start career he’s started favourite, and the ninth time he’s started odds on. The win was his eighth consecutive victory and 16th overall. After drawing box one for Thursday night’s final, tab.com.au opened Fernando Bale a $1.15 chance to claim his third group 1 feature. It is the shortest price a greyhound has opened in a group-1 event.
The biggest threat to Fernando Bale’s bid for a third group-1 title is likely to come from kennelmate Usain I’m Nutty, which won the first Harrison-Dawson heat in a slick 29.30. Taking full advantage of box one, the recent group-2 Launching Pad winner ran home in a stunning 10.38, however his moderate sectional times and awkward box in the final means he will have to be at his peak to upset his kennelmate.
Weston East broke a run of six outs to also score in 29.30, while Caustic Bale showed he’s returning to his best form with a 29.52 win in the other heat.
The $145,000 group 1 Harrison-Dawson final, as well as the $145,000 group 1 Sapphire Crown final, will be run this Thursday evening (14 May). The two finals coincide with the heats of the $250,000 group 1 RSN Sandown Cup – the world’s richest race for stayers – the final of which will be run on Thursday 21 May.
