Silver Lining To Epic Group 1 Maturity Classic

FOUR of the eight finalists from January’s Silver Chief will line-up in next Saturday night’s Group 1 Maturity Classic Final at The Meadows.

Adam Dobbin18 July 2020

FOUR of the eight finalists from January's Silver Chief will line-up in next Saturday night's Group 1 Maturity Classic Final (525m) at The Meadows.

That was the tale of the tape following eight cracking heats of the age-restricted showpiece at The Meadows on Saturday night.

Earlier this year, Simon Told Helen landed the first of his three group 1 victories with a stellar performance in the Group 1 Silver Chief Final at The Meadows.

Finishing behind him in the age-restricted blockbuster were Tiggerlong Tonk, Hard Style Rico and Christo Bale, which six months on, joined Simon Told Helen as Maturity Classic heat winners at The Meadows on Saturday night.

On a night of sublime performances, Simon Told Helen's quest for a fourth group 1 title remained right on song, recording a blistering 29.68 to land his heat of the KCR Transport sponsored event.

But with six individual group race winners qualifying for next Saturday's epic $100,000 to-the-winner finale, adding another group 1 trophy to his bulging resume will be anything but a walk in the park.

Running sublime sectionals of 4.97 and 17.40, the David Burnett-trained son of Barcia Bale ran rampant through the opening two sectionals, his spectacular acceleration on show for all to see.

And it's that kind of speed that will ensure the superstar of the Australian sprinting ranks starts favourite for next week's decider.

On a night of fabulous action, the opening Maturity heat was annexed by the Matt Clark-trained Playlist in 30.04.

Stepping out a week on from his memorable Group 1 Vic Peters Classic win in Sydney, the son of Aussie Infrared put together a polished display to progress to next week's finale.

But sadly the same couldn't be said for his brother Catch The Thief, going down by half-a-length to 100/1 outsider Summer Lights for trainer Tina Womann in heat two.

Beaten at his past 12 appearances going into the series, Summer Lights scored the upset of perhaps the year to down a gallant Catch The Thief at monster odds.

Heat three saw star on the rise Christo Bale power into the final with a cracking 29.73 win for Mark Delbridge.

Coming into the series fresh off his Group 2 McKenna Memorial win, Christo Bale carved out a tantalizing closing section and with luck in running next weekend can make his presence felt in the final.

Horsham Cup winner Tiggerlong Tonk made light work of heat four for Correy Grenfell, the son of Dyna Double One recording 30.15 en route to qualifying for a fourth group 1 final.

Yet to claim a deserved group 1 break-through, the 22-time winner will need to overcome Simon Told Helen if he's to do, finishing third to the superstar in both the Maturity Classic and Harrison-Dawson previously.

Fastest qualifier for next week's final is the Luckie Karabitsakos-trained Hard Style Rico, the son of Bella Infrared reeling off a sizzling 29.67 win on Saturday night.

It will be the third time the Shepparton Cup winner has qualified fastest for a group 1 final, his previous quests in the National Derby and Maturity Classic.

Speaking of country cup winners, Warrnambool Cup hero Zambora Smokey continued his brilliant form for Jason Thompson in heat seven with a slick 30.06 success.

Making his debut at The Meadows, the son of Zambora Brockie made full use of box eight to score, while in the final heat, NSW star Ebby Infrared surged into the decider with a classy 30.19 success.

In the hands of Ros Hume and Geoff Collins for his Victorian campaign, Ebby Infrared took his record to 24 wins from 47 starts and with a record like that can't be left out of calculations for next week's big one either.

Meanwhile, two heats of The Fireball (725m) were run and won on Saturday night with Sunset Bourbski setting the pace for Andrea Dailly.

A daughter of 2015 Group 1 Bold Trease winner Bourbski Fever, Sunset Bourbski put on a clinic Saturday night, defeating hot-pot He Shall Power in comfortable fashion.

The second heat was won by Sandown distance record holder Here's Tears in 43.20 for Rob Britton.

Using box eight to perfection, the big striding son of Fernando Bale did enough to score over Rockstar Beav and My Father's Son.

Finishing fourth and scraping through to the final was former SA stayer Sir Truculent which made up plenty of ground late following some early bother.