So when Steve Fitch watched promising sprinter August Bob power into the final of the Group 3 Young Guns at Albion Park last week, he would have felt vindicated in his decision to send his kennel star north for a crack at Queensland’s rich Winter carnival.
“It was a big run considering he did a couple of things wrong on the first bend, but he recovered and the run home was enormous,” a relieved Fitch said ahead of Thursday night’s $30,000 final.
“I’d given up a little bit but I was hopeful he could run into second and make it through to the final. The last 100m was pretty exciting and I jumped out of my chair at home when he got up.”
The nature of the run far superior to the time of 30.13, especially after August Bob almost fell in his first start in the Sunshine State.
The son of My Redeemer out of Gramercy Park qualifying second slowest for the Group 3 decider but drawing the prized Box 1 alley as he looks to win a maiden feature race title.
“I’m always happy to have Box 1 but he doesn’t like a lot of pressure on his outside,” Fitch added.
“He copped some in the heat but if he can hold his nerve in the run to the first bend, I think he’s a good chance. I normally want him drawn outside but he got wiped out two weeks in a row at Wenty Park from wider draws so hopefully he can hold the rail on Thursday night.”
August Bob was a Group 1 National Derby finalist for Steve Fitch in January
Fitch utilising the services of quality QLD mentor Tony Brett during a Winter campaign that includes big races targets like the Group 2 Flying Amy and State Of Origin series.
“I didn’t know Tony [Brett] but David Brasch pointed me his way. I called him up and he said he’s taking on a team for the winter carnival and he’d be happy to take him,” Fitch said.
“We could have kept him in NSW for the Bob Payne but the Young Guns was age-restricted, had the same prizemoney and I thought he might be better suited in that series. I’ve never sent a dog away before so we didn’t know much about it, but he went up on a plane last Wednesday, he had a box to box on the Sunday and then went into the heats on Thursday.”
A plan Brett admits he needed to be convinced of.
“I nearly talked Steve out of it,” he laughed.
“We agreed the main game was the Flying Amy in about three weeks. I thought “we don’t have to rush” but he was keen to get the dog up here and settled in and I’m glad I listened to him. Now we know he’ll be an experienced dog in three weeks time and he could even be a Group race winner after Thursday night.”
Brett, a multiple Group 1 winning trainer, thrilled to be back on track after a six-month hiatus.
“I haven’t been out of the game but I haven’t raced a dog since November last year,” Brett said.
“I’ve still been watching them go around so when I got the phone call from Steve and knew the dog could run 29.35 at Wenty, my ears pricked up. He seemed to have a similar training approach to me and was happy to give me the reigns so I was rapt to take him on.”
The 53-year-old confident August Bob can measure up on Thursday night before tackling bigger assignments over the coming months.
“He ran 5.51 to the first mark in the heats of the Young Guns and normally that will lead a race here. He just had that dog pressure him which brought him undone,” Brett said.
“That’s the trick to him. He just needs to be left alone in that run to the first turn and he can produce the sections needed to win these sorts of races. His last run was full of merit and it was always in the back of my mind that he was only going to get better with more starts at Albion Park.”
“The Flying Amy is next and if he does well, as much as it would be to my dislike, I’d wear a blue shirt in the State Of Origin if he got the call up. I did it with Ebby Ripper a few years ago but I do prefer the maroon jersey. I’m as parochial as the next Queenslander but if the option came up, I’d be happy to help.”
“NSW has some super dogs going around at the moment and they’re all headed this way so we’ll see what happens. Hopefully we can get a few ticks on his resume and winning a Group race would give him a push. I think it could be the best Origin series we’ve ever had and hopefully we can honour Terry [Hill] someway, somehow.”
