By Mike hill 

\”HE\’S racing in good form and has turned into a nice sprinter,\” says Justin Bowe.

The Greenmount-based (near Toowoomba, Qld) trainer was talking about the exceptionally bred It\’s A Rush after the young dog\’s impressive victory in September’s $5250 Bundaberg Derby (550m).

It\’s A Rush, the $2.70 favourite, led most of the way to beat the Ron Brook-prepared Not Scared ($7.50) by two-and-a-half lengths with David Kitchener\’s Dervando ($13) another two lengths back third.

\”He was drawn in the right box (three) and I knew if he got to the front he would be hard to beat,\” said Bowe.

It\’s A Rush began quickly, opening up a narrow lead at the post the first time and, although challenged down the back straight by Dervando, showed strength to pull away in the straight.

The winning time of 31.42s impressed Bowe so much he said: \”We\’ll now definitely target the Bundaberg Cup (550m, final October 5).

\”He\’s a very consistent dog and his Derby time puts him close to the best at the track this year. He\’s always shown us something and he\’s turned into a more than handy 500m dog.

\”He\’s got early speed and strength at the end of his races and he beat a couple of handy FFA performers at Bundaberg.\”

The victory pushed the talented sprinter\’s record to eight wins and six placings from just 16 starts with prizemoney sitting at $21,625.

It\’s a Rush, or Conrad as he is known around the Bowe kennels, is a model of consistency.

After being unplaced at his first start at Warragul late last year when prepared by leading Victorian trainer Kel Greenough, It\’s A Rush has only missed a placing once in 15 runs for Bowe.

\”He suffered interference in that race at Albion Park,\” Bowe said.

It\’s A Rush, a brindle dog, is a member of the highly talented Fernando Bale-It\’s A Fling litter, bred by well-known owner Greg Sprod.

The litter includes the Kel Greenough-prepared It\’s A Blaze – a three-time winner from five starts including victory over 650m at Sale – and It\’s A Flirt, a 720m Wentworth Park winner for trainer Jason Mackay.

It\’s A Rush has also shown signs that he could cover more ground as he matures.

Meanwhile, Bowe was unable to complete the Bundy feature double when littermate It\’s A Glance was unplaced in the Oaks final.

A hot $1.65 favourite, It\’s A Glance \’tangled\’ with leader Hello Mavis approaching the home turn and the pair came together again at the top of the straight, ruining their chances.

The interference allowed the Michael Edwards-trained Sesqui ($13) to race through and claim victory with Brett Hazelgrove\’s Sea Riding ($9.50) a close second. The unlucky Peter O\’Reilly-prepared Hello Mavis ($3.40) finished third.

It\’s A Glance, which had been quickest in the heats seven days earlier with a BOD 31.37s, finished fourth (32.06s).

Sesqui (El Grand Senor-Hidden Assets) clocked 31.71s and the victory took her record to eight wins and 15 placings from 37 starts and lifted her prizemoney to $31,300.

Several weeks earlier, Moorooka-based trainer Robert Jacobsen quinellaed the $7875 Bundaberg Sprint (460m) with a couple of outsiders, Go Emmy Go ($15) and Preston Lee ($11).

The Jacobsen pair along with third placegetter, $19 chance Giggling Sal (Matthew Evans), missed severe interference in the back straight that ruined the hopes of the more fancied runners.

The victory boosted Go Emmy Go\’s record to seven wins and eight placings from 22 starts and pushed her prizemoney beyond $20,500.

She has shown a definite liking for the Bundy grass with her track stats standing at four wins, four seconds and a third from 11 starts.

Caption: Owner Belynda Bowe-Essex and trainer Justin Bowe with Bundaberg Derby winner It’s A Rush. (Photo: Uncle Rusty’s Photos)