Caption: The Ken Boody-trained Zip Stream wins the $6500 Young Guns Final (498m) at Townsville last month beating Glen Olsen’s Winter Ghost and another Boody runner Barely Friendly. (Photo: Louise Partland)
Queensland Regional Wrap With MIKE HILL
“PUT it down to a change in scenery.”
That’s how trainer Ken Boody has explained Zip Stream’s new-found winning form.
The black daughter of Zipping Garth and Night Time Lover has hit a purple patch since arriving at Boody’s Dalma base in Central Queensland late last year.
She left John and Pam Field’s Logan Reserve kennels, south of Brisbane, with a 9-4-2 record from 28 starts in early December and has been on an amazing run since winning first-up over 407m at Rockhampton.
Victory in last month’s $6500 Young Guns Final (498m) at Townsville gave her a 10-win record from 11 starts (eight BON times) since leaving the Brisbane region.
Starting a hot $1.50 favourite, Zip Stream won the feature final by three-quarters of a length from the Glen Olsen-trained Winter Ghost ($9) with another Boody runner Barely Friendly ($7) half-a-length away third.
The Young Guns success was her ninth win in a row.
“I can only say that a change of scenery is certainly agreeing with her,” Boody said after the win.
“She’s certainly racing well. She’s going from strength to strength.
“And she’s probably relishing racing against easier opposition up here.”
The trainer said Zip Stream, owned by his aunty, Amber Boody, previously had been racing over the shorter sprint distances and had progressed to Best 8 company at Albion Park and Ipswich.
“The Fields felt she had gone as far as she could around Brisbane,” he said.
“I’m now looking at the Rockhampton Cup Wildcard series with her.
“I’ll trial her over 510m and if she can run it out we’ll have a crack at the Cup.”
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TAKURA owner-breeder-trainer David Plummer has high hopes for his highly promising yet still immature young sprinter Garfunkel.
In late February, the Dyna Steal-Foxy Fireball black chaser clocked the fastest 460m for a maiden since Bundaberg gained TAB status in May 2019.
Two months after a ‘best-to-forget’ career opening run, Garfunkel stopped the clock at a slick 26.12s, crushing his rivals by almost 17 lengths.
It bettered the previous best – 26.13s – set by Sea Dodging in late September 2019.
Garfunkel followed it up a week later with a Novice victory (26.82s), despite experiencing plenty of trouble in running, and made it three in a row seven days later.
Success continued the following week with another runaway win in a 4th/5th Grade (460m) in 26.40s.
“He’s still a pup, he doesn’t turn two until May, and he’s immature,” Plummer said.
“Despite that, he’s quick. He’s the fastest dog in the kennel and that includes Fogelberg (FFA performer, Bundy ‘21 GOTY and winner of 24 races).
“He’s been beating Fogelberg since he was a 16-month-old pup.”
But he’s still a work in progress for Plummer, particularly after an eventful career launch at Bundaberg last December, in which he was featured heavily in the stewards report.
“I put it down to his immaturity and that it was his first race start,” Plummer said.
“We’ve spent a lot of time with him since then making sure his mind is on the job and we’ll continue to do so in the future.
“He turns his head as the lids lift. He needs to see what he’s chasing. I just wish the lure was a little bit more in front of the boxes when the lids open.
“Garfunkel is a powerful dog, particularly at the back end of his races and I’m certain he’ll run a lot further than 460m.
“He’s so strong on the way home, he just has to improve his manners in the first half of his races.
“I’m certain that will come as he matures.
“He’s running home sub 70s. Very few do that.
“When Fogelberg just missed the track record (25.94s), clocking 25.95s in late January, his run-home time was 12.73s.
“Garfunkel’s run home in his maiden win was 12.68s.”
PAWNOTE: Plummer, a lover of music, has named several of his sprinters after some of his favourite musicians: Garfunkel after Art Garfunkel of the folk rock duo Simon and Garfunkel; Fogelberg after American musician, songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Dan Fogelberg; and Durham in honour of Australian group The Seekers lead singer Judith Durham.
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BEACHMERE-trained sprinter Sunshine Delight gave a powerful exhibition of front running to set a Bundaberg 550m track record in late February.
The Paul McIlveen-prepared chaser crushed his rivals in a heat of the $6500 Young Guns, winning by 13-and-a-quarter lengths.
Sunshine Delight (My Redeemer-Lemon Sunrise) stopped the clocked at 30.91s – .05s faster than the previous best held by It’s A Rush.
It was a big day for McIlveen, who took three runners to Bundaberg and returned home with a winning treble.
His other winners were I’m The Bill ($2), winner of a 460m 5th Grade, and Group performer Bad And Boujee, a $3.20 winner of the 4th/5th Grade over 550m.
Sunshine Delight, a highly consistent performer for the kennel, was sent out a hot $1.28 favourite.
“He’s a really, really good dog,” McIlveen said of the his new record holder.
“I knew he could go close to the record because he had drawn perfectly in the two box and I was confident he would lead.
“He’s a 29.80s dog around Albion Park.”
The win took his record to 12 wins and 14 placings from 37 starts and lifted his earnings to just less than $70,000.
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MEANWHILE, the Greg Kennedy-trained Question Asked won a depleted Young Guns Final (550m) at Bundaberg.
The feature was decimated by scratchings following heavy rain and floods in the Sunshine Coast-Brisbane-Gold Coast regions.
Logical favourite Sunshine Delight, after setting a track record in the heats, was one of three late scratchings after another two runners had been earlier scratched.
Question Asked ($2.30) beat the Allen Kelly-prepared Slick Velvet ($4.80) by a length in the three-dog final with Ron Brook’s Not Allowed ($2.10 fav) five lengths back third.
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TWO smart pups were produced for runaway maiden wins at consecutive meetings at Rockhampton last month.
Churchable-based trainer Warren Nicholls made a highly successful trip to the Central Queensland track mid-month with six runners and returned home to his base near Ipswich with a winning trio.
He was unlucky not to make it four.
His winners included Future’s Changed ($5.50) in a Novice and Ready To Rumble in a M5 class, both over 407m.
But it was the Fernando Bale-Cha Cha Gem youngster, Protagonist, that impressed with his 16-plus lengths win in a 407m maiden, clocking 23.81s – just .01s slower than the BON recorded by Barely Friendly in the open class sprint.
Protagonist had gone into the race on the back of six placings at Albion Park and Ipswich from seven starts.
Meanwhile, leading CQ owner-trainer and club president Dallas Beckett unveiled Francis Geoffrey – a Superior Panama-Zipping Yoko youngster – for a first-up maiden win at a Sunday meeting.
Francis Geoffrey, who had obviously shown early promise, blitzed his rivals by almost 12 lengths, running a super 23.99s.
Another Beckett runner, Goody Goody Yum, quinellaed the race.
