Classy speedster Blackpool Flash already boasts a Group victory in Western Australia to his credit and he’s poised to add a Victorian feature event to his resume in Sunday afternoon’s Healesville Derby final (350m).
Blackpool Flash has taken to straight track racing in great fashion in recent weeks, running second in the Rodney Thorneycroft Memorial and then setting the pace in last weekend’s heats of the $7000 to-the-winner Derby, clocking 19.16sec (Best).
The well-bred son of Fernando Bale and Lochinvar Amour has won 20 of his 39 starts, including a nine-race winning streak in late 2020 and early 2021 highlighted by victory in the G3 Birthday Cup at Mandurah, where he defeated track record-holder Canya Cruise.
“He’s the pick of the kennel obviously,” said Adrian Kenyon, husband of trainer Renee.
“Renee wanted to have a city winner in her name but Blackpool Flash doesn’t quite get ‘500’, so she’s actually trained a Group winner before she’s had a city winner!
“This is the second litter from the mother, Lochinvar Amour. From her first litter (to Barcia Bale) we had a dog called Blackpool Ammo, that’s over in WA now and actually won at Cannington on Wednesday night.
“Blackpool Ammo was already over in Perth with Shayne Williams and when ‘Flash’ started off well and kept getting better and better Shayne told me the Birthday Cup was coming up and we sent him over for six or seven weeks and it worked out perfectly.
“We’ve also got Blackpool Flash’s litter brother Blackpool Bolt, which is pretty fast too and has won 12 races and $20,000 prizemoney.”
Four Derby heats were held last Sunday, with the other run-offs taken out by Paddy’s Marvel, trained by Mark Morrissey, in 19.26sec, NSW visitor Parkour, prepared by Patrick Mulrine, in 19.39sec and Mark Delbridge’s Nihari Bale in 19.46sec.
Paddy’s Marvel, which is undefeated in four starts at Healesville over 300m (three) and 350m and formerly held the Shepparton 385m record, shapes as Blackpool Flash’s main threat but Adrian Kenyon hopes box one will tilt the scales in the fastest qualifier’s favour.
Blackpool Flash has a perfect three from three record from the ‘red’.
“It’s only the fourth time he’s had the ‘red’ in his 40 starts and two of them were over in Perth,” Kenyon said.
“It’s where he wants to be, and he’ll get first look at the lure but draws don’t really matter because he’s a lid-pinger.
“Paddy’s Marvel is a fast animal and ideally before the draw was done we wanted to draw inside him, so getting box one makes it even better. My bloke will just run straight; he won’t move an inch and the draw gives him every chance.
“He’s had a really good build-up to the race. He’d never been to Healesville before the Memorial heat, which he won and then ran second in the final, and he’s got better with each run.
“Hopefully he can do the job on Sunday and the Straight Track Championship is coming up at Healesville in July with the final being held up in Capalaba so that might be something we look at.”
The Derby final is Race 8 at 1.05pm.
