Adhana Rico takes out Group 3 Murray Bridge Cup
Adhana Rico takes out Group 3 Murray Bridge Cup
Adhana Rico has continued its brilliant run of feature race success since crossing into South Australia taking out the 2024 Group 3 Daish Irrigation and Fodder Murray Bridge Cup on Sunday night.
Trained by Cameron Forshaw, Adhana Rico overcame a tricky box five draw and a red-hot field to produce an excellent performance in winning the race in 25.22.
The early speed battle loomed pivotal in the race and Adhana Rico was able to match it pace early with Chapel Road, who was the pre-race favourite.
After crossing over, Adhana Rico was able to open an advantage into the straight and while Chapel Road continued to push on, it was unable to close the gap to Adhana Rico who won by a length.
Chapel Road, for trainer Kiah Hurley was able to hold second while Wild Banker for Mount Gambier based trainer Tracie Price run into third place.
The Group 3 Murray Bridge Cup success continued an excellent run for Adhana Rico since coming to SA in September last year.
The SA star finished fourth in the Adelaide Cup while also winning the Gawler Gold Cup and the time-honoured Kate’ A Scandal Xmas Sprint.
Speaking during the post-race presentation, Forshaw said he knew the beginning was going to be crucial and he was proud of Adhana Rico’s beginning.
“He just did what he had to do on the night,” Forshaw said.
“It’s all we could have asked for, he came out nicely and got on with it and he was away. He has been super since he has come over to us and we can’t ask for much from him.”
Adhana Rico’s next target looks set to be the EASTAR Match Race series for South Australian greyhounds at Angle Park on March 28 before heading to the Tara Raceway for a tilt at the Group 3 Mount Gambier Cup.
Adhana Rico’s success means that Forshaw will be eligible for the bonuses which go with winning both the Murray Bridge and Mount Gambier Cups. Following the Mount Gambier Cup, a shot at the 2024 Anniversary Cup also looms large with the event boasting an elevated prize pool for 2024 totalling $50,000.
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As well as the Murray Bridge Cup, there were several other features on the card including the John O’Neill Memorial Cup Consolation which was taken out by the Kiah Hurley-trained Long Haul.
Drawn ideally out wide in box six, Long Haul came out running spearing to the lead with a lightning 7.98 first split and was never trouble in winning by six lengths in 25.24.
The evening began with two finals held down the straight track with the healthy on course crowd able to get up close to the track while also showcasing the unique two-track set up at Murray Bridge.
The two races shaped as a nice precursor to the 2024 Murray Bridge Straight Track Cup in May and the National Straight Track qualifiers in August with the National final to be held at the same venue.
The 350m straight track race was taken out by the Nicole Price-trained Oakvale Outlaw who was an impressive two-length winner stopping the clock in 19.27 and improving its career record to 13 wins and two placing from its 17 career starts.
The 300m race was taken out by Cash On Delivery, winning in 16.56 and capping a big night for the Forshaw kennel. From box five, Cash On Delivery speared out to a comfortable lead and while the talented Not For Profit closed late, it was unable to close the gap.
Two other special events were run on the night with Victory Club making it back-to-back wins for trainer Rob Harnas just holding off the fast finishing Rolling Riot for Don Turner in 22.22.
The other special event saw Dash Of Blue produced an excellent performance to win over the 530m journey and prime itself for the Easter Cup over the 595m trip at Angle Park.
Jumping only fairly from box eight, Dash Of Blue was able to quickly get into its work powering away strongly to win by three and a half lengths in 29.87.