Caption: Sand Blaster (Jeff Ahern) holds out Gattlin Glass (Trevor Lindsay) last Saturday night at Ipswich to win a heat of the Col Harris Gold Sovereign (630m).  (Photo: Box 1 Photography)

By Pat McLeod

Casino trainer Jeff Ahern wishes for more of the same this Saturday night, just less fireworks.

Last Saturday night Ahern’s fragile chaser Sand Blaster put his stamp on the Ipswich 630m, taking out a heat of the Col Harris Gold Sovereign (0-4 wins).

However, that pivotal victory had a nervous aftermath, with Ahern, and his partner, Casino track manager Donna Pezet, caught in a wild storm on the drive home.

“It was pretty nasty there for a while,” the 73-year-old, long-timer conditioner reflected.

“The winds were blowing branches across the road. Close to home at Casino a tree had fallen across the road and we had to wait for it to be cut and removed.

“We didn’t get home until after midnight.”

Although the storm was frightening, it didn’t erase the earlier night’s race highlights.

Sand Blaster’s win confirmed Ahern’s belief that the Fernando Blaster x Dulcafay chaser had been seeking more ground.

However, the veteran trainer had been faced with a Catch-22 situation.

“He has always shown promise, but has been plagued with feet problems,” Ahern explains.

“He has an issue with one of his pads.

“If I try to work him to go up in distance that injury can flare up, so it is a delicate balance.

“Currently, fitness-wise this is the best that I have had him and Saturday night shows what he can do.

“We will keep going with him over the longer distance as long as the injury doesn’t re-emerge.”

Also in Ahern’s favour last Saturday night was the box draw, the red.

“He is mad for the fence,” he said.

“He gets on to that rail and sticks to it.”

Which is why this Saturday night is a little problematic.

“We have drawn the six, which isn’t good,” Ahern says.

“His race fitness will be better, but he will need luck from there, a fair bit of luck.”

Now with race statistics of 33 starts for five wins and seven placings, almost all over shorter distances, Ahern is hoping to improve on that with more starts over 500m or 600m.

However, his first run up in distance, over the Casino 620m, two starts ago was a steep learning curve.

“He was completely outclassed,” Ahern recalls.

“He came up against Mark Moroney’s She Is Fire, who broke the track record in that run.

“Saturday night will be more his class, one to four wins.”

Currently Ahern has four race dogs in his kennel, all from the same litter, however Sand Blaster is the only one on the track.

“The other three are coming back from injury,” he says.

“Sand Blaster is holding up the fort.

“He has a job ahead of him on Saturday night, but the money is good ($7540 to the winner).

“So, if he wins, it will certainly be worth the drive.”

Two other features will also be run at Ipswich on Saturday night – with all three features each offering overall prizemoney of $11,600.

The Lady Trainers Final will be run over 520m and the Beat Breast Cancer Cup Final (732m) has attracted distance queen Valpolicella (Tony Zammit).