Ladbrokes Gardens will host the 2025 Sires On Ice Black Top Final this Saturday night. Here’s our runner-by-runner preview ahead of the Group 2 final worth $40,000 to the winner.
The outsider and oldest dog in the field would also be the best story if she got up, with the kennel taking on some of the biggest names in the game.
Kenzie Robbo ran a PB of 29.48 in the heats to qualify and her first section of 4.96 was just a shade outside her best ever mark (4.95) to the post for the first time.
The box draw has helped her out a bit with the slowest beginner, Zipping Chetty, drawn next door but Ritza Kris will be making a beeline for the fence…
Box 1 certainly makes the task easier (12: 2-4-4 record in red) against a field of early fliers and she knows the place inside out after 41 starts over The Gardens 515m. Will need to go to another level to win.
Zipping Chetty | Courtney Barnes | Ladbrokes Price $9
Doesn’t have any real early toe to speak about and wonder if she will eventually follow in the footsteps of her mother, Zipping Virigina, and tackle longer distance races?
Lobs into her third feature final in the last few months after running third in both the Group 1 Peter Mosman Opal in July and Gosford Goldmine final in August behind some handy types.
Only had the one race start at The Gardens but it was a nice 29.43 heat win and she could improve off that. She could also get a dream run in behind likely leaders Ritza Kris and Trio Of Clowns.
Early speed to burn and she’ll need to lead through the first bend if she’s any chance of winning.
And with first sections times like these, it’s a real possibility.
Ritza Kris went 4.86 to the mark in her 29.33 heat win last week at The Gardens. A week earlier, she ran 5.28 at Dapto in a 29.64 win. She’s also run 5.38 at Wenty Park before finishing in 29.66. These have all come within her first eight race starts.
Still very inexperienced but has no pace underneath her and a wider runner outside so the map looks very favourable if she gets the start right.
A half-sister to Taormina and Group 1 winner Ritza Donna, she’s impeccably bred and is my tip to win the Sire On Ice Black Top.
Trio Of Clowns | Sam Sultana | Ladbrokes Price $3.10 Hasn’t this guy hit a purple patch of form.
After winning six of seven races to finish off 2024 and begin 2025, he returned from a two-month spell in March and was only placed once across his next nine starts.
He rejoined the winner’s circle at Bulli in July and has since claimed five races for connections including the Bulli Million Dollar Chase Regional Final and his heat of the Black Top. Throw in a 29.58 run at Wentworth Park and he’s one of the form dogs in NSW.
He enjoyed having a vacant box beside him in the Black Top heats but his first split of 4.91 was very impressive and his overall time of 29.28 was good enough for the second fastest time on the night behind Sooty Keeping.
He’s drawn to follow Ritza Kris into the first bend in Saturday night’s final and he deserves to be a joint race favourite.
Coast Rig | Patricia Chaker | Ladbrokes Price $6 Finds herself in yet another big final after a performance full of merit behind Sooty Keeping in last week’s heats.
She went 4.94 to the first mark and 29.37 overall and if the best race bitch in NSW wasn’t in the race, she wins her heat pretty comfortably.
Her best hope is to lead but Box 5 is no good, especially with Trio Of Clowns (Box 4) wanting to go right and kennelmate Ritza Kris (Box 3) likely to be out in front of her as well.
She actually paved the way for Dapto Megastar winner Eriza Sparkles to get herself into the Group 1 race a few weeks ago with a good early split, could she do the same for the dogs outside her in the Black Top?
Tracker | Jason Mackay | Ladbrokes Price $9 Tracker gets a run with the untimely injury to Sooty Keeping and he might be the best roughie in the race.
Drawn pretty well in Box 6 and could get a cart across on the back of Coast Rig while Gets Late Early wants to use a bit of the track from Box 7.
Has had sneaky experience at The Gardens with five starts for one win and four runner-up finishes, and his best track and trip time of 29.15 is clearly the fastest of those in the field.
Trainer Jason Mackay has won this race before and although a big race scalp has eluded him so far, Tracker has earned 26 cheques from 37 starts and is often a threat.
Tracker is a son of Aussie Infrared and Dundee Calypso
Gets Late Early | Minnie Finn | Ladbrokes Price $7.50
The 2024 Group 1 National Futurity winner keeps on keeping on despite having 103 starts for connections and being three years and seven months old.
She was rock solid behind Ritza Kris in the heats (29.40) and qualified as one of only two lucky losers on the night for Minnie Finn.
After a brief dalliance with straight track racing last month - where she won the NSW Straight Track championship and ran sixth in the final at The Q – she should be cherry ripe for the final after three runs over 500m.
Don’t think she can cross them but importantly, she wants to be drawn out wide (13: 5-3-2 in the black rug) and will punching forward early from Box 7.
Gets Late Early is the most successful daughter of a Poco Dorado litter that has won 154 races for connections
False Witness | Sam Sultana |Ladbrokes Price $9
The litter brother to Trio Of Clowns was very impressive in a 29.31 heat victory a week ago and gee, didn’t he give himself a great steer.
He jumped slowly from Box 8 but a vacant lid to his inside allowed him to slide across into the contest, and even though he was toward the back of the field as they entered the bend, he emerged from the turn in a perfect stalking spot one behind the leader and somehow on the rail.
From there, he pulled his way to the outside as they went past the 600m boxes and burned past You Never Lose, finishing powerfully for a dominant 4.5 length win.
He’s quietly put together a really good two months with four wins and seven placings from his last 12 starts.
All the action kicks off at Ladbrokes Gardens in Newcastle on Saturday night at 7:02pm. The Sires On Ice Black Top Final will be Race 8 on the program at 9:28pm.
