Champion trainer Jason Thompson is confident lightly raced sprinter Unleash Collinda can continue his spectacular straight track form in Sunday afternoon’s Group 3 Capalaba Cup Final (366m).
Unleash Collinda ventured to Queensland for the $40,000 to-the-winner Capalaba Cup after winning three from four at Healesville.
The April ’20 son of Beast Unleashed, bred and raced by Steph Tyler, defeated superstar Ferdinand Boy in a G2 Cup heat in a flying 19.08sec at just his tenth start, before running a close fifth in the final to Capalaba Cup favourite Sacred Stance.
Unleash Collinda made an ultra-impressive Capalaba debut when setting the pace in last weekend’s Cup heats, clocking 19.50sec, improving his impressive record to eight from 14.
“He’s become a very good straight dog,” Thompson said.
“It suits him because he has a tendency to miss the start when he’s on the circle.
“He’s a very fast dog but on the circle, he misses the start more often than he begins, which is no good when you get up against the better dogs. That’s why we originally took him to Healesville.
“His run in the Healesville Cup Final was very good, he couldn’t get a crack at them and was only beaten a length and a half.
“After that I took him back to the circle for a Grade 5 heat and final at Bendigo. In the heat he came out a length behind the second last dog but got away with it and then he missed it again in the final.
“Rather than head back to Bendigo for the Cup heats, I decided to get him up to Tony Brett for the Capalaba Cup.
“He trialled super leading into the heats (19.72sec). He’d never been behind a drag before and then he backed it up with a very good win in his heat.”
WATCH: UNLEASH COLLINDA (B4) was a runaway winner of a star-studded G2 Healesville Cup heat on September 4, defeating FERDINAND BOY (B3) in a scorching 19.08sec.
After drawing Box 5 for Sunday’s Cup Final – Race 8 at 3.19pm – Unleash Collinda is the $3.50 second elect, with Healesville Cup winner Sacred Stance (Box 1) $1.90 favourite.
“He had a very busy week last week, travelling up to Queensland, trialling, and then running in the heats, and I think having a normal week this week could be the key to him,” Thompson said.
“Box 5 isn’t ideal, but you have to earn these wins and he’s full of confidence and racing well.”
Then on Sunday night, Thompson will have three short-priced favourites in the G2 Bendigo Cup heats (425m), as he chases a fifth victory in the race.
His three well-drawn fancies are True Collinda (Heat 2, Box 2 – $2.25), Plaintiff (Heat 3, Box 2 – $1.70) and track record holder Typhoon Sammy (Heat 5, Box 1 – $2).
Thompson has nominated Plaintiff, winner of six of his last seven starts, the most recent a Best Of Night 25.02sec victory at Ballarat on Wednesday, as his best chance.
“I think they’re all drawn pretty favourably,” he said.
“They’re all good chances, but Plaintiff is the number one dog at the moment.
“He had a slight hiccup in the Million Dollar Chase semis and has only had one run in nearly three weeks, but while it was injury enforced, it suits him coming in fresh over 425m.
“He’s never been to Bendigo, but he’d never been to Horsham, and he went really good (26.87sec), albeit he had Box 1.
“Typhoon Sammy isn’t far off where he was last year and since True Collinda came back from a season she’s been going really well. She’s won five out of eight and she does seem to go well at Bendigo too (4 wins from 5 starts).”
