Bow Baby not taking a backward step for Boody

By Isaac Murphy

It’s a rare feat to knock off your maiden win on debut amongst Thursday night company at Albion Park.

Amber Boody’s Bow Baby did just that at 19 months back in March, and now fresh off her first season, the bitch has kicked off her second campaign in style.

An unlikely win in the Ipswich Futurity heats and a good draw for Saturday night’s final has now put her right in the picture for a maiden feature triumph.

“She did a wonderful job to hang on and win her heat, she had her first season which saw her out from late August until early September and leading up to Saturday she’d only had the two runs over the 331 and 395 metres at Albion Park,” Boody said.

“We knew she needed the run and weren’t going out with any ambition to win the heat, we just wanted to make it through to the final - she’ll be much better off for the run and she’ll probably need to be for the final.

“She got a bit tired late which we expected but I was giving John Brasch a bit of curry when he announced Micks Recall had got up, I thought we’d run second until the seven flashed up on the board - I got one up on him there.”

Bow Baby is going to have to find another level if she wants to repeat the dose in the Final, with several powerful types sure to be rattling home as she shortens up late.

“It’ll be a hard race as there’s plenty of class there, Micks Recall almost ran us down from ten lengths off and Frieda Las Vegas is a similar type bitch, but our advantage is early speed and I was quite happy when we drew the eight for the Final,” Boody said.

“Mayoress in the seven is the only other genuine early speed in the race and I think we can even clear her if we’re on out best manners at the start and out in front making your own luck in a Final is usually how you like it.

“It’ll be a good learning experience for her either way, we think she’s up to it but if she’s not that’s ok, we’re only 12 starts in and it’ll toughen her up racing against those good dogs.”

A young pup’s first season can often drag on and effect their racing for some way down the track, but Boody’s all-natural approach seems to have worked with three brilliant results since her return.

“Her first season went as well as we could have hoped, there were no real hiccups and since she’s come back she won first-up over the 331, placed over the 395 and won her Futurity heat last week - I’d say she’s come back even better,” Boody said.

“She set a high standard for herself winning on debut on a Thursday night and a few runs later she broke 30 in her Novice, so we knew we had a bitch that could run.”

“We’re lucky with her box speed we can give her a different look over the shorter sprint trips at Albion Park, she’s an out-and-out 520-metre bitch but it’s nice to have that option there to freshen her up when she needs it.”

Boody is keen to test Bow Baby against some of the best in the near future, with Saturday night’s final the beginning of a crucial month for the bitch.

“We’ve always had a really high opinion of her and it’ll be a big month or so of racing, starting with Saturday’s final, followed by the Rising Stars at Albion Park and if she comes through those races well we might throw her in the Ipswich Gold Cup heats,” she said.

“It’ll be good to see her in the Rising Stars against other dogs around her age, we think she’s pretty good but there’s plenty of handy pups out there so it should give us a good guide to where she’s at.

“We’ve got repeat owners for her which is good, they’ve had dogs with us in the past with some success and were happy enough to bring this girl back to us to train, hopefully we have some good times ahead.”