Former local Clint Trengove believes the box draw for Sunday’s Broken Hill Cup (525m) is the best he’s received for a big race in his 20-plus years in the sport.
The 49-year-old now ready to launch a three-pronged assault on the $10,000 feature with Osprey Diva (Box 1), Adzuki Monelli (Box 3) and Paua Of Silence (Box 4) all drawing handily.
“I wasn’t around when they did the draw, I was doing a pre-race swab for my one of my brothers’ dogs so when one of me mates came running down and told me we’d got 1, 3 and 4, I wasn’t sure if he was taking the piss out of me,” Trengove laughed.
“There’s only half a length between four of five of them to the first mark so it was vital to draw the inside and I’m glad some of the good dogs like Long Haul and Chapel Road are wider out.”
The Lewiston-based mentor confirming new track record holder, Adzuki Monelli, has overcome a bout of dehydration and will take his place in the lineup.
“It was a bit strange. He was swabbed after the heats and was fine. He fed up fine too but when I took him on a hand walk out in the bush on Monday morning, his urine wasn't coming out too well and he was getting around pretty slow,” Trengove added.
“I took him to the vet on Monday lunchtime because he didn’t seem right, and he was put on a drip overnight. I picked him up the next day along with some medication and that seems to have freed him up.”
“He was on the walker for 10 minutes on Thursday and Friday so he's improved a lot. I would have liked to gallop him this week though so on one hand it’s not an ideal preparation, but on the other, he’ll be fresh and ready to go.”
The Tim Aloisi-owned chaser coming off arguably a career best run of 30.22 in what was his first look at the track in the heats.
Kennelmates Osprey Diva and Paua Of Silence had to overcome checkered runs in their preliminaries to advance, with Trengove confident both will improve on Sunday.
“Osprey Diva went 30.61 and got poleaxed a couple of times in that race. That was just her second run back from a calf strain so she actually went really good,” Trengove said.
“She’s a distance bitch as well so if she’s close to them, she’ll be flying home. And she’s tough so she should be able to ride the bumps that come her way in the run to the first bend.
“And I thought Paua Of Silence was the run of the night. A dog hit him as he came out of the boxes and then Who Knows Darren pushed him wide through the pen. He copped a check then again and he still went 30.30.”
“He’s pulled up the best he ever has and he’s raring to go. The dog has a real mid race burst and considering I haven’t got any work in Adzuki this week, Paua Of Silence is actually my pick to win it.”
Standing in his way will be Brother Fox finalist Who Knows Gus, the Troy Roberts-trained Who Knows Darren and a trio of Kiah Hurley runners – Long Haul, Zelda Chaos and Chapel Road.
“Long Haul looked good in the heats and Chapel Road ran a big race. They’re both good young dogs and Chapel Road won the Mount Gambier Cup a few weeks ago. We ran third in that race with Paua Of Silence so we’ll be looking to turn the tables come Sunday,” Trengove added
Heat winner Long Haul with Kiah Hurley and connections
“It’s my home town, home crowd, I’m a former president of the club and I’ve never won one so I’d love to take it out. I’ve run seconds and thirds in the big Broken Hill races over the last few years and the margins have been half a head, a nose and all the rest so I think I’m due.”
The 2024 Broken Hill Cup final, worth $10,000 to the winner, will be run on Sunday, June 2 at 7:04pm.
