Cumbria Jim Drawn To Strike In Beteasy Final

THOSE with a keen eye may have seen Steve Fitch riding home Cumbria Jim with great vigour from behind the boxes at Dapto last Thursday night.

And if you did happen to catch a glimpse you'd be forgiven for thinking the Nowra Hill owner-trainer was behind his charge's significant market move, firming from $14 midway through Thursday all the way into $3.90 at jump time.

"I don't know where all that money came from but it wasn't mine – I had $80 on him," Fitch said.

"And there were no cartons of beer at the doorstep when I got home either!"

For the record the plunge came off, quite easily in fact.

After a moderate beginning, the son of Barcia Bale rocketed through the pack to establish a hefty mid-race lead in the third heat of the Beteasy Fifth Grade Series (520m).

And it was a margin Cumbria Jim held onto, defeating Oil And Water by 4 ½ lengths in a slippery 30.27.

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"I was that pleased for the dog because he really deserved another win … he's a very honest dog and never far away," offered Fitch.

"Recently he had eight or nine placings in a row. I call him my meat and kibble dog because you can take him to the races and almost be guaranteed he'll win you some money and pay for the rest for the week."

Winner at four of his 21 starts with a further 13 placings, Cumbria Jim has drawn box one for Thursday night's Beteasy Final which promises to be a hotly contested affair.

Fastest qualifier for the $2,000 to-the-winner event is Jodie Lord's rampaging 29.78 heat winner Ritza Donald, while Boomin' Ethics progressed with an equally impressive 29.86 success.

"On sections if Ritza Donald repeats what he did in the heat then he'll just win," Fitch said.

"My dog isn't a great beginner but has that pace when he hits the ground. If he can push up underneath them on Thursday he won't give up his spot easy; he's a bit of a bull that way."

The ever consistent Cumbria Jim hails from Fitch's hugely exciting Barcia Bale x Hill Top Belle litter which don't turn two for another 10 days, underlining their significant ability.

"I was getting back into greyhounds about five years ago and was on the lookout for a well-bred bitch to breed with," Fitch reflected.

"I gave Robert Smith a call and he put me on to Kevin Gordon. Kevin told me about this Collision x Lochinvar Vogue bitch that was breaking in well before going off a bit. I said I'd take her and offered him either money or a pup deal and he just said not to worry … as long as she was going to a good home.

"I ended up winning five races with her (Hill Top Belle) before breeding this litter and if I knew what I knew now I wouldn't have even worried about racing her."

Fitch elected to go to Barcia Bale with the well bred commodity for her first litter, a decision fast proving a masterstroke.

"The whole litter broke-in at Dapto very well," Fitch said.

"Cumbria Belle went the best of them; she ran 17.15 at her second go out of the 297m boxes when she was just 14 months old. I just shook my head when I heard that at the time."

With the litter already responsible for 16 wins at a strike-rate of 30 percent, Fitch is hoping that winning run rolls into Dapto on Thursday night when Cumbria Jim and Cumbria Dreaming tackle their respective assignments.

"Cumbria Dreaming (race 3 box 7) is the quicker of the two dogs – he ran 26.50 finishing third to Wow on Saturday night at Bulli," Fitch added.

"He actually hasn't been to Dapto since he broke-in but I've got no doubt if he finds the front he'll break 30 seconds on Thursday night."

And while looking forward to Thursday night, Fitch can't hide his excitement about the imminent return of Cumbria Belle, winner at five of her seven appearances.

"She's flying," Fitch beamed.

"I'm looking forward to getting her back to the races in the next week or two. She hurt a fibula at her last start Goulburn win. 

"Hill Top Belle has an eight week old litter of ten to Fernando Bale. I'll probably look to sell four of them when the time comes."