Gatt's Maiden Shines At Dapto

BOX manners are Mark Gatt’s biggest concern with undefeated youngster He’s All Shine ahead of Thursday night’s Group 3 Beteasy Dapto Maiden Final (520m).

BOX manners are Mark Gatt's biggest concern with undefeated youngster He's All Shine ahead of Thursday night's Group 3 Beteasy Dapto Maiden Final (520m).

He's All Shine, a January '17 son of Barcia Bale and She's Scandalous, has overcome poor starts in heat and semi-final of the $25,000 to-the-winner Dapto Maiden, coming from worse than midfield on both occasions to clock 30.57 and 30.31 respectively.

"He's got a lot of natural ability, this dog," Thirlmere-based Mark Gatt said.

"He's a good chaser and he's shown he's pretty heady in a field, because he's missed the start badly both times. He's a big, long, tall, leggy type of dog and you wouldn't expect him to handle a tight track like Dapto as well as he has.

"His only hang-up is that he's a bad box dog and always has been. If you take away the boxes and slip him he runs anything but obviously we don't race in slips.

"I've done a bit of work with him this week and tried a few different things so hopefully he can half roll out. Put it this way, he couldn't begin any worse!"

He's All Shine has been big odds in both his Dapto victories, having started at $7 on debut in his heat, where he careered away in a roughhouse affair to defeat odds-on favourite Zipping Cobra by 5.75 lengths.

He then started at $12.60 from box seven in the first of two semi-finals held last Thursday.

After another ordinary getaway, He's All Shine was running fifth on the first turn before improving into third in the back straight and sweeping to the front turning for home as he defeated Jodie Lord's Rocca Jet ($8) by 1.5 lengths, with Lord's well-backed $3.30 favourite Mr. Cashway running third.

The second semi-final saw Warren Harper's $2.60 favourite Another Grey, a June '16 daughter of Barcia Bale and Little Grey, improve on her 29.96 heat victory with a runaway 8.5 length success, leading all-the-way in a best of night 29.91.

After setting the qualifying standard in both rounds, Little Grey is the $1.65 favourite from box seven in Ladbrokes' Dapto Maiden market, with He's All Shine the $3.80 second elect from box one.

"I couldn't believe it when he blew out to about $15 last week," Gatt offered.

"His 30.59 run in his heat probably didn't look too good on paper but it was a really rough race and there was a lot of interference. If there weren't any boxes he wouldn't have been 15/1, I'll tell you that!

"He's done a really good job to make the final. He's handled himself really well; he's gone around them, between them and under them.

"I'm hoping box one will help him. That's where you want to be in any maiden final. Most of them will want to get to the fence so there could be a scrimmage. I know he's not going to ping or even jump really good but he will stay on the fence if there's room there. So hopefully he'll stay on the rails and drive through.

"Another Grey is 100 per cent the one to beat. She's seems foolproof and after running 5.33 and 5.41 to the first mark the first two weeks she'll be very hard to lead.

"The only other pace dog is Lots Of Diamonds, which is trained by John Maroun, who's a mate of mine. John hasn't won a race in the city yet but now he's got a Group finalist. I think Another Grey will lead Lots Of Diamonds and hopefully my dog can lob third."

He's All Shine is from the first litter of She's Scandalous, a well-related daughter of Collision and multiple Group placegetter Wonderous (Brett Lee – Jaylo Blush), which Gatt also trained during her very brief racing career of just six starts.

"She's Scandalous was a rocket," Gatt said.

"Mark Azzopardi originally trained her and she broke the Goulburn track record in a performance trial and then she won a heat of the Grafton Maiden after missing the start by five or six lengths. But then she did a stopper bone in her first start for me in the heats of the National Futurity.

"I was also training Ritza Hattie at the time and while Ritza Hattie went on to win $250,000, She's Scandalous was faster at the same age.

"I put my hand up for her pups straight away when Greg Sprod and Tyrone Whittington bred with her. She's also had a second litter to KC And All."

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