Nothing foggy about Misty Haze’s form

By Isaac Murphy

The Publican’s Cup gives Fifth Grade greyhounds the chance to shine on a Thursday night and they’ve come in droves with five heats set for tomorrow night.

While most are looking to find form in the series, Pam Field’s Misty Haze already has it, with three of the chaser’s six career wins coming in her last four starts.

“Her win against Magical Bill two starts ago over the 500 was probably her best to date, she was a long way off him and came out of the pack to chase him down,” Fueld said.

“She was a good ten lengths off him down the back and got there on the line, that’s when I knew she’d really turned a corner.

“She ran 30.07 that night knocking a fair chunk off her personal best and she was then able to carry that form into her 600 next start for her maiden win over that distance.

“The Publican’s Cup series couldn’t have arrived at a better time for her, it’s great to see the Fifth Grade dogs being taken care of with a feature series, but there’s no easy racing and the acid test is going to be on Thursday when she comes out of box seven.”

Misty Haze will be smashing the line late but it’s her start that’s going to determine her fate in the first heat, but Field is looking at the positives of the tough box seven draw.

“Kerry Hoggan’s bitch Canya Kick is drawn directly inside of her in the six, she’s a brilliant beginner and I’m hoping if we can jump somewhere on her heals, she’ll take us across and into the race,” Field said.

“She’s a very good bitch Canya Kick and even if we’re nice and close to her it doesn’t guarantee us anything, she’s a sub-thirty bitch around Albion Park and will take some catching.

“Misty Haze is coming off her best time ever and even if she doesn’t win, if she runs around that mark, she gives herself a chance of being one of the ones that qualify for next week’s Final.”

Like a lot of moderate beginners, Misty Haze relies heavily on box draws to maintain her form, and while it can be frustrating at times Field knows things eventually even out.

“She went through a bit of a horror patch where she just couldn’t draw a box; it was five or wider every week and with her lack of box speed she was getting into trouble being taken wide and it knocked her around a bit,” she said.

“The tide has turned in the last couple of months and she came up with a run of inside draws where was able to jump with them and land somewhere midfield rather than out the back, and her confidence has gone though the roof her last couple of runs.”

Field cited the 600 metres as a key ingredient to Misty Haze’s recent success, getting her in the right head space for her 500s and the option to keep her over the middle-distance.

“I think giving her a couple of runs over the 600 has been key as well, she’s been against some slightly slower beginners and has been flying out of the boxes,” Field said.

“We’ve used that method with our stronger 500-metre dogs for some time, a bitch like Misty Haze is a perfect example; she jumps with them but doesn’t muster from the 500 boxes, where on the corner start when she jumps straight onto a turn and is much closer in the run.

“Our tactic has been to get her on the lure over the 600 to build up a bit of confidence for her 500-metre races and it appears to have worked.

“It’s good to know we have the middle-distance there as an option if she gets too high up in the grades over the sprint, we can take her to the fifth grade over 600.”

Field is looking to cash in on Misty Haze’s progressive performances, with her next assignment ready and waiting for her.

“She’s nominated for the Ipswich Auction Series next month, if she goes well tomorrow night, we might think about switching her back to Ipswich for a couple of weeks before the Series in early September,” she said.

“I only race my dogs at Albion Park and Ipswich and have always found it really beneficial to mix their distances and swap between tracks when you can, I don’t want them getting the same look every time.

“Ipswich is a different composition with the sand and has always been recognised as a harder 500 trip than Albion Park which I think should really suit Misty Haze the way she’s been finishing her races.”

Some may question why a talented bitch like Misty Haze has only managed six wins from 44 starts, and Field explains the bitch was a slow, with a big six months ahead.

“Wanting to get her prepared for the Ipswich Auction Series that was originally set for February, we got her career started fairly early and threw her in the deep end to some extent,” Field said.

“She won her maiden over the 331 metres at Albion and went straight to Novice grade on a Thursday night where she ran well without winning.

“She just continued to turn up and run in the placings and the prize money on Thursday night kept us coming back.

“That’s why her minors outweigh her wins, but she’s been through the hard part and at two-and-a-half years old I’m really optimistic about what’s to come.”