Hall hopes Extra Malt can clear the final hurdle

By Isaac Murphy

It’s not easy taking the favourite tag into a Group series, but Leanne and Graham Hall’s exciting youngster Extra Malt has done so with aplomb on her way to Saturday’s Group 3 Ipswich Auction Final, where she’s poised to give the couple the biggest win of their careers to date.

Graham Hall said the couple couldn’t be prouder of the Paw Licking/It Gets Better bitch, who they bred themselves.

The pair now only have seven other chances between them and the $40,000 crown, but there was plenty to work on after she bombed the start only to win in her heat and semi in the last stride.

“We would’ve liked her to do it a bit easier than she has in the heat and the semi but getting into tough positions has brought out the side of her we were always looking for - she’s a fighter,” Graham Hall said.

“We knew if she got herself in trouble, she had the motor to get back in the race and progress in the series, but I love the way she’s attacked the line - it’s like she knows where the post is.

“She’s developed a savvy field sense that most greyhounds don’t find until they’re much more experienced, but as good as that’s been she can’t give Flaming Rose and Little Byrnes that kind of start in the Final - they’ll be off and gone.”

Extra Malt has been the talk of the town on the back of consecutive 29.6-second runs at Albion Park last month and although her form is outstanding, she’s learning on the job at Ipswich.

“I think it’s her inexperience out of the boxes that’s costing her at Ipswich, she’s used to starting at Albion Park with the cleats in the boxes whereas Ipswich doesn’t have them, and she’s just slipped on the mat on both occasions,” Hall said.

“She’d only had the one start at Ipswich before the Series in early February in what was a much easier race than what she’s faced in the Auction Series.

“We’re certainly not complaining, it’s just something every young dog needs to learn, and she happens to be going through it in a very important series.

“But she’ll be getting more familiar each time and even if she doesn’t nail it from the five if she can just make it around that first turn, we’re in business.”

Hall said aside from that one slip up, the bitch had never been more ready for the most important race of her fledgling career.

“Apart from that one little issue at the start, we couldn’t have her more ready for Saturday - she’s chasing even harder than she was at Albion on her winning streak,” he said.

“It’s small margins in these big races though, I’ve got no doubt she’ll be putting every fibre into it, but she needs to do things right and have a touch of luck on the night.

“Flaming Rose and Little Byrnes are our main concerns; the former should lead the race with the latter on her tail, their strength is early speed and ours is the run home - it should be a fascinating battle.”

The Halls formerly trained out of Victoria but upon arrival in Queensland, were quick to note the Ipswich Auction Series was something they wanted to be a part of.

“Saturday’s Final is the biggest race we’ve been involved in since establishing ourselves here in Queensland,” Hall said.

“It’s a race we thought we could target as well; breeding our own progeny, rearing her and taking her through the Auction, this race has always been on the radar when she started showing us the ability she has.

“For us, this is what the game is all about; we’ve gone through all the work hoping to get to this point and then suddenly you’re here and it’s pretty rewarding to get this far but we want one more.”

While Saturday might be Extra Malt’s most crucial start to date, the future possibilities are endless, and Hall is hoping she can hit the ground running in the Winter Carnival.

“Win or lose Saturday, touchwood she comes through unscathed, and we can head immediately towards the Winged Runner Trophy for bitches only the following Thursday,” he said.

“She’s been up for a while and you can think maybe she needs a break, but for us we see her thriving on the work, so why not give her every chance in some of the upcoming races.

“The time is on the board there at Albion Park and seeing her everyday, she’s not taking a backwards step.”