Fancy Lineup For Mandurah Oaks Final
Fancy Lineup For Mandurah Oaks Final
Photo: Trainer Kody Charles with his Mandurah Oaks Heat Winner It’s A Diamond
Friday night’s $8,000 to the winner Mandurah Oaks Final promises to be an interesting affair with talented Victorian Fancy Francene taking on some of WA’s most talented young bitches.
Fancy Francene who is in the care of Trainer Chris Halse had her first look at the Mandurah circuit last Friday when she overcame early issues to power home for what looked a luckless second behind It’s A Diamond.
Fancy Francene has had just the 12 career starts for 3 wins and 7 placings and her 29.90 win over the 525 metres at the Meadows is a very strong guide that her best is well above average.
She will have to turn the tables on It’s A Diamond to take out the feature final however and the Kody Charles trained bitch was the fastest qualifier when leading throughout to win her heat in 27.68 seconds.
Just last week It’s a Diamond’s litter brother It’s A Storm was successful in the Mandurah Derby final and it also came from box seven.
It would be a unique feat and a big achievement for the Breeders if the daughter of Barcia Bale and It’s A Blur could prevail and land the Derby/Oaks double for the litter.
In the other of last week’s heats Banjo’s Girl was able to come from off speed to score a 28.02 second win for Trainer Rod Noden defeating Kara Keeping by just under four lengths.
Here are all of the Trainer’s with a runner in tonight’s final with thoughts on their chances…
1. Marvista (Trainer Max Julien) : “We only recently purchased her from Queensland and she has only been in my kennels for a week and a half. She has settled in nicely and it was her first look at Mandurah last week so I would expect there to be some improvement left in her. Box one is a nice draw and I am hoping she can boot up hard on the fence and play a part. With a bit of natural improvement I think she can be an each way chance.”
2. Kara Keeping (Trainer Brad Cook) : “Her biggest asset is her early speed and hopefully she can get down to the rails first. If she could do that and there was a bit of jamming behind her than she could potentially run a cheeky race. To be honest I am just really happy to have made the final and realistically she is going to need a fair bit of luck to feature. I thought It’s a Diamond was very impressive last week and if it runs up to that level again the best I could probably hope for is to sneak into a place.”
3. She’s All Talk (Kennel Rep Graham Crudeli) : “She has done a good job to get through to the final and she needs to get to the fence to show her best so the draw is suitable. Realistically her times aren’t to the level of a couple of the favourites so she will need her fair share of good fortune to figure in the finish. I thought Fancy Francene did a huge job to pick herself up and chase home hard last week after finding trouble and she looks hardest to beat.”
4. Fancy Francene (Trainer Chris Halse) : “She is a very smart young bitch and we are delighted to have her across for the Mandurah and WA Oaks. She was having her first look here last week and after nearly knuckling over her effort to pick herself up and hit the line was excellent. She has run some slick times over in Victoria and if she gets a clear crack at them she will be awfully hard to beat. It’s A Diamond looks her main danger.”
5. Spritely Dove (Trainer Cosi Dagostino) : “She missed the start badly in her heat last week and her effort after that was very good to be placed. She won her Maiden here over the 405 metres in 22.69 so we know she has got genuine speed. I have been doing plenty of box work with her this week so I am a lot more confident about her nailing the start this week. I think whoever leads will be hard to beat. She is a nice young bitch and with a clear run I expect her to run a top race. She looks an each way hope at good odds.”
6. Banjo’s Girl (Trainer Rod Noden) : “She has put together a nice record in her career so far but most of them have been over shorter distances so it was a bit of an unknown stepping up to the 490 metres. As it turns out she did a great job to win and she should be better for a run over the distance now. There are some nice dogs around her and the box draw is not ideal but I think with a bit of luck in running she can sneak into a top three spot.”
7. It’s A Diamond (Trainer Kody Charles) : “She came into her heat run very fresh and I was really pleased with her effort to win in 27.68. I would have preferred to draw a bit closer to the fence as most of her wins have come from inside boxes but she does have good early zip and hopefully she can get across to the rails early without too much bother. Her work at home this week has been spot on and she is primed for a big run. I have quite an opinion of Fancy Francene and it is likely to improve for a look at the track last week so it looks hardest to beat.”
8. Venus And Mars (Trainer Chris Halse) : “Box eight is probably a nice draw for her as she likes room to work into her races. To be honest she hasn’t raced as well at Mandurah as what she does at Cannington. I’m not really sure why but she has to this point reserved her best runs for in town. When these races are on you have to have a crack at them – she is into the final now so we’ll see how she goes. She would need to find a few lengths to keep up with Fancy Francene if she gets a clear run. She could sneak a place with the right sort of run.”
DAVID SHORTTE