On a picturesque Australia Day evening it was Modern Collinda who shined brightest as she took out one of the two feature events held at Sandown Park on Thursday night.
The latest star in the Jason Thompson kennel at Pearcedale was a class above in the Australian Sprint special event, bursting away to win in 29.39s ahead of a strong field that included the likes of Zippy Tesla, Dynamic Prince and My Neo.
The win makes it three straight at city level for Modern Collinda and she is yet to miss the podium in 2023.
Owner Steph Tyler couldn’t be happier with her form.
“It’s lovely to see her string a few good runs together, and it’s especially nice to win a feature event like the Australian Sprint,” she said.
“When you know they’re as strong as she is, you think to yourself ‘we’re going to catch this dog, we’ve got a chance’. It’s a real thrill.”
Modern Collinda made a name for herself when chasing down Melbourne Cup runner-up Fernando Mick to win in 29.25s just two weeks ago.
She is yet to take her paw off the gas.
This quick rise to stardom comes as no surprise to Steph.
“We’ve known from the start what she’s capable of doing,” she said.
“Her confidence is really high at the moment.
“I reckon she can take it to the big boys, she’s shown that she’s able to compete with the best of them.
“We spoke to Jason (Thompson) about taking her to the Temlee, but whether she’ll get a start or not, we’re not sure.
“She only made her mark very recently so it might be a little bit late.
“If she doesn’t get the run, we’ll look for another strong race for her to step up to the challenge again.
“Hopefully she can keep taking on these challenges and win a Group race soon.”
Earlier in the night, Black Sail was an outstanding winner in the Maidment Memorial special event over the 595m.
He left cleanly from the inside draw and exploded down the back to lead by 10 lengths over Mepunga Warrior and Chic, recording a breathtaking 22.99s second split in the process!
He crossed the line in 33.99s and brought home the trophy for trainer Ned McDonald.
Black Sail has proven hard to beat over the middle distance, winning two of his three 595m runs at Sandown.
