Geall's ‘Splendid' Paws Claims

MELBOURNE Cup winning trainer Dave Geall is adamant his star chaser Miss Splendamiro has the firepower to serve it right up to race favourite Poke The Bear in what looms as a mouthwatering finale to the Group 1 Ladbrokes Paws Of Thunder (520m) at Wentworth Park this Saturday night.

MELBOURNE Cup winning trainer Dave Geall is adamant his star chaser Miss Splendamiro has the firepower to serve it right up to race favourite Poke The Bear in what looms as a mouthwatering finale to the Group 1 Ladbrokes Paws Of Thunder (520m) at Wentworth Park this Saturday night.

Returning to Wentworth Park for the first time since last October when third to Mystic Riot in a semi-final of the Million Dollar Chase series, Miss Splendamiro was simply brilliant landing her Paws Of Thunder heat in a slick 29.73 at the weekend, displaying ample grit and determination through the first bend to go on and record career victory number 31.

"She really does deserve a Group 1, so being a NSW bitch it would be great if she could win it on her home track Saturday night," said Geall, who has now taken Miss Splendamiro to the races on 10 occasions for six victories and four placings.

"When she came to me she came from two very good trainers in Hank Vanderburg and George Borg and I haven't reinvented the wheel with her. If anything she's showing more early dash and coming out better and I've had a lot of people ask me if I've done box work with her but I don't really believe in that while they're racing.

"We have some pretty lengthy competition runs that we work them in here at home and in a way I put her early zip down to that. It's not a physical thing, more physcological and you can see that in her racing, she just refuses to get led and is so competitive."

Miss Splendamiro, a daughter of Barcia Bale and Splendourous, will line-up in her fourth Group 1 final on Saturday night, her previous efforts at the highest level all in 2018, resulting in a fifth to Up Hill Jill in the Golden Easter Egg, fifth to Elevated in the Sapphire Crown and more recently a third to Hasten Slowly in the Brisbane Cup.

But to breakthrough for a maiden Group 1 victory Miss Splendamiro will need to overcome a tricky box six draw, a trap she's faced just three times throughout her distinguished 56 start career.

"Box six isn't ideal but one of this bitch's best assets is that she's not one dimensional – she can lead or come from off the speed. She's racing at the top of her game at the moment but we don't want Poke The Bear right behind us, he's the fastest dog in the country, slightly faster than even My Redeemer, which isn't easy for me to say as I'm pretty biased," declared Geall, when referring to his Melbourne Cup winning galloper.

Topgun hero Poke The Bear heads betting for Saturday night's $75,000 to-the-winner final following his rampaging 29.55 heat success for trainer Seona Thompson, the son of Fernando Bale collaring leader Buck's Future in the final bounds to qualify and potentially join his retired litter-brother Out Of Range (National Derby) as a Group 1 winner at Wentworth Park.

"It's a very good field but Poke The Bear is definitely the one to beat – he's such an intelligent race dog, he ran Miss Splendamiro down in a heat of the Melbourne Cup and then got (Up Hill) Jill in the Topgun and Silver Bullet after that so we definitely owe him one!"

Whilst Geall's fortunes with Miss Splendamiro were on song Saturday night, it was a different tale with his dual group 1 winning chaser My Redeemer, one of the performances of the night when third in his Paws heat behind Federal Lilly.

"I thought he'd gone amiss in the run to be honest," said Geall earlier this week.

"It looked like he faltered through the catching pen and the way he gave ground midrace was a real concern but he got going late and seems to be okay – I thought his run was huge. I trialled Rio Brave before the first so he had a look at the track before the Derby and I was hoping he'd go around 29.80 – he ran 29.61 with an 11.64 run-home but ripped a back pad off in the run which was really disappointing.

"I'm 80% confident he'll be right for the Derby heats in two weeks' time but its red raw at the moment. I'm treating it with cream they use in hospitals on burn victims which has worked for me in the past so hopefully early next week I'll be able to wrap it up and gallop him. The run home times this dog can run are unbelievable, I'd say down the track we'll be getting him over longer."

And whilst Geall's kennels are racing with a headful of steam presently, including Emerald Rainbow's appearance in Tuesday's Group 3 Devonport Cup Final, there's one chaser parked away at his 12-strong Lara racing kennels that's rather nonplussed with all the recent events.

Her name, the recently retired star of the show, Up Hill Jill.

"She's absolutely filthy with me!" said Geall on Monday.

"I've still got her in the racing kennels and when I got home from Sydney on Sunday morning all the dogs got up off their beds to greet me when I walked in but not her, she never moved a muscle. She'd done that same trip with me so many times – it's like she knew where I was coming home from and wasn't happy! She just loved to go to the races and is so competitive.

"It was until being at Wenty on Saturday night that it really sunk in she was retired – I was watching some of the bigger names go by the wayside in the heats and was thinking to myself – Jill would have given some of these plenty to think about. But it can't go on forever."

Give them something to think about Up Hill Jill certainly did during her racing days, winning 38 races, including a Topgun and Golden Easter Egg, boasting a tidy $884,000 in prizemoney.

"She'll go to Fernando Bale when she comes on season," declared Geall.

"The way I see it he was the only option. He's the only dog on sections at Wenty, The Meadows and Sandown that could match the kind of times she could run. We know that mix works with the line producing My Redeemer so we've just gone for sheer pace – and a lot of it!

"Who knows, maybe when Miss Splendamiro retires I can convince the owners to go to My Redeemer – I might even give them a free service!"

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