Drako ‘breathes’ a Fireball

Saturday, 23 Jul, 2022,
by Peter Quilty

Drako ‘breathes’ a Fireball

Highly underrated stayer Drako Bale was ‘breathing fire’ in tonight’s $37,250 Group 3 KCR Pet Transport Fireball final (730m) at The Meadows.

Drako translates as “dragon” in Greek mythology, but a $25,000 first prize was reality for trainer Andrea Dailly . (She finished third with Zipping Ticket in last year’s final.)

Ironically, Drako Bale ($12.10) slayed his rivals with a sizzling frontrunning performance from box six. He defeated a gallant Jarick Bale ($3.50) by 2.9L, with Play Nice ($8.90) a further 0.5L away third in 43.07sec.

Fastest heat winner Rohan Bale ($2.80F) – a younger half-brother of Jarick Bale and prepared by ‘Team Gibbons’ – encountered more trouble than the early explorers. He continued the Group race ‘curse’ being experienced by former pro wrestlers Daniel and Rebecca Gibbons.

Drako Bale (Apr ’19 Dyna Villa x Fanta Bale) notched his 10th win, with 19 seconds and 10 thirds, from 63 starts. His stakes jumped to $119,048.

A son of all-time great Fanta Bale – Australia’s highest prizemoney earner ($1,365,175) – Drako Bale snared his first Group race win at his sixth attempt.

Last year, he was a finalist in in G1 Bold Trease (715m) at Sandown Park and G1 Sale Cup (650m). And earlier this month, he was a finalist in the G1 Queensland Cup (710m) at Albion Park in Brisbane.

WATCH: Drako Bale (6) leads all the way in the Fireball to claim the $25,000 first prize.

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Peter Quilty

Peter Quilty has more than three decades of experience as assistant editor of Victorian Greyhound Weekly. He was editor of GRV monthly magazine The Adviser (2001-09) and owner/publisher of Australian Greyhound Monthly. He also served on the selection panel for the inaugural GRV ‘Hall of Fame’ inductees and for several years was an adjudicator on the Victorian GOTY. He’s also published greyhound racing yearbooks and wrote the ‘Bold Trease’ video script.