Mepunga Isla owns the Group 2 Golden Sands

By Isaac Murphy

Mepunga Isla stole the show at Thursday night’s Group 2 Golden Sands meet at Albion Park.

Victorian trainer Adam Richardson only arrived with the bitch the morning of the race and was forced into a tumultuous preparation, but Mepunga Isla was in a rush too, crossing the field from box eight on her way to her first Group win for an ecstatic trainer.

“I can’t believe it, after the week we’ve had with COVID and jumping through hoops to get here by 10 o’clock this morning, for her to come out and do that has made it all worth it,” Richardson said.

“It was a tough road to qualify for the Final as well, she found a bit of trouble early in her heat but she’s just a mad chaser and never packed it in and got the clean jump and rewards tonight.

“Everyone was talking about her perfect box eight record during the week, which had me a bit worried having never seen box eight at Albion, but she couldn’t have left any better and she put the race to bed at the first turn.”

With 22 race wins to her name at over a 50% strike rate, the bitch has been close to cracking a big one before, but ultimately it was a step up to the 600 metres couples with a trip to Albion Park which closed the deal.

“There were so many occasions where she was just off the pace in big races over the 500 metres and to step her up a couple of months ago and now have a Group 2 in the bag is just rewards for her,” Richardson said.

“A huge thanks to Barry Smith who breeds the whole Mepunga line and owns this bitch, I’ve always wanted to win a Group race for him - I can’t wait to bring home to trophy.

“I’ve said it before, but this little bitch has changed my life and that’s just gone to a whole new level tonight, I’m running out of superlatives - speechless.”

Pundits might be getting another look at the star soon, with Richardson not ruling out a brisk return.

“It was a big decision to come back to Brisbane for a second time after her injury in the Futurity late in 2019, but what a story of redemption,” he said.

“We’ll fly back home and let this win soak in for a couple of days before making a decision on where we go next, but I wouldn’t rule out a flight back up for the Golden Ticket if we can get here.

“She’s still a rapid bitch over 500 metres and has shown she can run serious time on this track - no promises but we’ll definitely consider it.”

Run Like Jess ran a bold runner-up for Deb Coleman who’s only trained the dog since October and while she would’ve liked to have won, she too wants to capitalise on upcoming races in the Summer Carnival.

“We came here to win and would have loved to have gone one better, but all credit to Adam and his bitch, she just ran the perfect race on the night - I’m still really proud of what our boy achieved,” Coleman said.

“We’ve only had him since October and he’s already on the verge of winning Group races, he wasn’t a cheap purchase but he’s paying us back in spades.

“Seeing how well he went we’ll probably bring him back in a fortnight’s time for the Clem Jones Cup up over the 700, the way he finishes his races he looks like he’ll get it and he’s shown he handles the travel and track.”

Boscono shows age is no barrier

Thursday’s second feature on the card was the Golden Oldies and favourite backers were happy when Boscono did the business for trainer Bob Ayres.

“I didn’t want to get carried away but on paper we had all the favours with the draw, the speed map and start 50 for her career, but she had to execute and she did a great job going with them early and showing her strength,” Ayres said.

“She’s got a remarkable strike rate, she wins one in every three of her races, that’s 17 for her career now and she’s done in from the 300 metres up to the 600 metres.

“We were very fortunate this race came along at the right time, she had a rough season which had her out for over two months, but we got her back and got the miles in the legs just in time.”

Boscono isn’t done racing just yet, but the Sunshine Coast trainer has grand plans for her retirement.

“She’s going to make a fantastic broodbitch; she’s still got a bit of business to handle on the track, but I mentioned her record, not many are that versatile,” he said.

“We’re only a small operation, so if we can have her produce a few litters it sets us up for the next decade if we can manage to continue the line.

“I haven’t quite decided on who to throw her with, but I hear a bloke called Fernando Bale is a pretty good bet.”

The People’s Dog set to sizzle

Those who got to the track early were treated to trials from last start Group 1 winner Tommy Shelby for Steve Withers, as well as the up-and-coming Nangar Rust for Mick Hardman.

The pair have come from Perth and Goulbourn respectively in preparation for next week’s Group 3 Golden Ticket, and both commented on their trials.

“He obviously needed the run, he’s only had a couple of slips since his Hobart Thousand win and he’s going to need to go a lot quicker than 30.02 to be competitive in a match race, but we’ve got a week to get him right,” Withers said.

“We came up three days ago to try to give him time to acclimatise and even after a few days at Brent Kline’s place I think he’s still just getting used to the humidity and different conditions.

“He chases as hard as any dog you’ll find, and he’ll pull out everything in a match race, if he doesn’t go through, we push on through the Gold Bullion heats.”

Hardman saw Nangar Rust go slightly quicker and was encouraged by his first look at the track.

“I saw the Golden Ticket about three months ago when he was out injured and it’s been in the back of my mind since then and I knew if I got him right that was something I’d like to target and here he is,” he said.

“The concept looks to suit him down to the ground, he’s run some serious time at tracks down here and if he can get around without interference we hope he can do the same in Brisbane.

“He’s the type of dog who needs a look at the track, so we drove up from Goulbourn at 4am this morning, he’s struggled a little bit with the humidity but all in all 29.91 is a good performance.”