Outsider? Hasten Slowly Set For Temlee Tilt

ANGELA Langton has warned punters to undersell the prospects of her star chaser Hasten Slowly at their own peril in Saturday night’s Group 1 Temlee (525m) at The Meadows.

ANGELA Langton has warned punters to undersell the prospects of her star chaser Hasten Slowly at their own peril in Saturday night's Group 1 Temlee (525m) at The Meadows.

Currently a $17.00 outsider with bookmaker Bet365, Hasten Slowly exits box five for this weekend's $100,000 to-the-winner invitation, with Langton telling the Recorder she's rather upbeat about the son of Fernando Bale's claims despite another horror box draw – something the rising three-year old is becoming most accustomed to.

"Maybe I'm biased but it's a silly price if you ask me, he's an unbelievable chaser and is never far away, just have a look at his record," said a proud Langton.

"I would have loved to have seen him draw close to the inside on Saturday. When you're in these races decent box draws are such an advantage but he hasn't had much luck at all lately with that.

"I gave him a hand-slip at The Meadows on Monday and he went terrific, he never runs a bad race this dog, I just love him, he's in the top few chances for mine but Orson Allen is the dog to beat."

Winner of the Group 1 Brisbane Cup at Albion Park last December, Hasten Slowly has finished runner-up in four Group 1 events during his fabulous career, including two at The Meadows, second in last year's Topgun to Poke The Bear and Australian Cup behind Hecton Bale.

"If not for box draws I think you could say he'd have a few more big wins next to his name, but he's always competitive, I can't fault him," added Langton.

"He's got an amazing temperament – at home nothing fazes him – when he retires he'll come and live in the house for sure. At the races though he's completely different, he switches right on and is bull at a gate with everything. He really is the perfect dog to train."

As Langton aptly points out, what makes Hasten Slowly's price even more remarkable for Saturday night's Group 1 showpiece is his record at The Meadows, his 12 starts at the venue returning four wins and six placings, with a personal best time of 29.91.

With $416,000 in the bank and 18 wins from 51 starts, with a further 22 placings, victory on Saturday night will elevate the star sprinter's prizemoney past the half-a-million dollar mark.

Langton and partner Jeff Britton are set to line-up two runners in Saturday night's Temlee, with Hasten Slowly joined by exciting newcomer Circle Of Dreams, quoted an $11.00 chance with Bet365.

"She's come a long way in a short time and is on the up," said Langton of the daughter of Barcia Bale.

"Ideally we would have liked to keep her to the puppy races but when you get invited into a race like this you don't turn down the opportunity. If she can lead she'll run around the 29.80 mark I'd say, the best thing about her is that she's got speed and is strong at the finish, she can do it at both ends."

The baby of the Temlee field, not two until May, Circle Of Dreams has won eight of her 11 career starts, including wins in the Group 2 Laurels at Sandown Park and Group 1 National Futurity at Wentworth Park, performances that cemented her spot in Saturday night's invitation-only event.

"Depending on how she goes in the next few weeks we might look at going to the Richmond Oaks with her – I think Richmond would suit her, especially back to her own sex," added Langton.

"I remember when we got her out of the yard before she went to get broken-in she was a bold little thing – the boss of the litter – she definitely had something about her. She wants to be at the races and you can tell that with everything she does.

"Jeff and I probably have the best crop of young dogs we've had at the moment. We decided to put our head down and keep breeding through all the dramas the industry was facing and it looks like we made the right decision with how things have turned out."

At The Meadows last Wednesday, Langton and Britton landed three of the four heats of the Group 3 Vic Bred Maiden Series (525m) with exciting trio Vivatar, Fancy Francene and Spearhead.

Vivatar and Fancy Francene are from Langton's very promising litter by Barcia Bale out of Eyes Adorable, while Spearhead is also by Barcia Bale out of Mepunga Mia, a litter-brother to Circle Of Dreams.

"I'm really excited about the Eyes Adorable litter, they are only very young but are showing a lot of promise so hopefully there are some good times ahead."

 

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