by Duane Ranger
Josh Dickie returns to Cambridge Raceway tonight – five days after driving the winner of Australia’s richest trotting race which he nailed just a couple of minutes into his 25th birthday.
Even the professional Dickie said it wasn’t difficult refocusing from Speeding Spur’s dominant win in the Group One $300,000 Great Southern Star Final at Melton’s Tabcorp Park to tonight’s meeting.
“I just love to win and my first drive back is quite a nice one in a race with a nice stake,” said Dickie who turned 25 at the exact time the Southern Star started (midnight Saturday – 10pm Australian time).
Dickie said it was a “dream-come-true” to train a big Australian trotting feature with his father. He thought the pair had a good chance of doing it again at Cambridge.
Dickie will drive Bettor Think Quick in the feature event on the 10-race programme – Heat 5 of the Nevele R Fillies Series for 3-year-old pacers.
The mobile mile (1609m) boasts a nice stake of $20,000, but sadly has attracted just five starters.
“We have qualified for the final but I can tell you we will definitely be trying to win the race. There’s nothing like the thrill of winning any race no matter what track you are on.
“I’m competitive, I don’t drive to run second and we can win but will need luck to beat Piccadilly Princess and Arden’s Choice. We will need a sectional to go our way,” Dickie said.
Bettor Think Quick qualified for the Final when winning the second heat at Alexandra Park on February 12. She beat Arden’s Choice by three quarters of a length with a 1.57.0 mile rate. There was four lengths back to Eclipse Me in third.
There was no Piccadilly Princess that night.
“Her (Piccadilly Princess) win in the Northern Oaks was superb and she is going to take a power of beating again. She’s a very good horse and even though my filly hasn’t got a great deal of gate speed I’ll have a look and see what happens shortly after the start,” Dickie said.
Piccadilly Princess has drawn outside of the front row – one outside Bettor Think Quick.
Clevedon-based Dickie said that although Bettor Think Quick copped a tough run in the Northern oaks, he said she had trained on well.
“She seems okay and we are hoping she has put that (Northern Oaks) run behind her. She’s a very nice horse and after Thursday she will keep progressing towards the Final,” said Dickie.
That $150,000 Final for the 3-year-old fillies will be raced at Alexandra Park on April 29. Piccadilly Princess is sure to make her presence that day and is also the one to beat tonight.
The Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen trained filly should not be tripped up by her first look at the track. Three of her six wins have been left-handed. She’s also won one-from-one over the distance.
That was two starts back when winning at Methven in the third heat in 1.59.3. That day she beat her very good stablemate Golden Goddess by a head, and then a fortnight later at Alexandra Park downed her by half a length in the Group One $120,000 Northern Oaks.
Auckland Cup winning reinsman Tim Williams retains the drive.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
