Caption: Grant Franklin and Get Carter, who will be contesting the heats of the Group 1 Golden Sands (600m) at Albion Park on Wednesday. (Photo: Box 1 Photography)
By Pat McLeod
Ipswich trainer Grant Franklin is in a win-win situation as he points enigmatic sprinter Get Carter towards possible Group 1 glory in the heats of the Golden Sands (600m) at Albion Park on Wednesday.
Franklin admits his biggest challenge is to keep his chaser interested as the big dollar Golden Greys Summer Carnival races come around.
“He is the type of dog that gets bored easily,” Franklin said of the well-performed chaser.
“We all know he has a big engine, but it is more a case of keeping his mind on the job.
“He had been racing over the 520m at Albion Park for a fair few weeks in a row (five), so I gave him a week’s rest and just trialed him at Ipswich over the 520m.
“I then decided to take him back to Albion Park, but for this 600m race (the Golden Sands heats). It’s another change for him.
“I obviously will be very happy if he does well in the heat, but will also be happy if he doesn’t make the final because ideally I just wanted to give him one 600m race before the Gold Bullion (heats January 25, final February 1), which is still the main aim of this carnival.
“I have to admit, I am interested to see how he performs this time over the 600m. He’s had a few goes in the past and some times he looks like he might be after more room over the 520m.
“He is in good form at the moment, so we will just see how it goes.”
Get Carter has drawn Box 1 in the fifth of five Golden Sands heats.
In his heat is powerhouse, group-winning distance dog Palawa King (Jack Smith), coming out of Box 4.
The other heats are sprinkled with big-name chasers, including Valpolicella (Tony Zammit) heat 1, Blue Hornet (Ray Burman) coming out of Box 1 and Group 1 National Sprint Championship winner Saige Tenniele (Kody Charles) in heat 2, Jeff Britton’s group performer Multi Matt and Go Bing (Tony Zammit) in heat 3 and veteran NSW group chaser Father Rick (Raymond Webster) and First Picked (Tim Britton) in heat 4.
The $150,000 Golden Sands has been elevated to a Group 1 race for this year’s carnival.
In the past two months Get Carter has finished second in three local 520m features – the Group 1 Ipswich Gold Cup (to Bear’s Bullet), the Group 3 The Flame (to Jay Is Jay) and the $40,200 QGOLD Summer Sprint (to Bear’s Bullet).
“It would be very nice for the dog if he could win one of these big ones,” Franklin said.
“I believe he has proven that he deserves to be in this company.”