It’s A Rush takes an alternate path to Origin

By Isaac Murphy

The Queensland Origin squad is littered with dogs who’ve been lighting it up at Albion Park lately, but there was one notable inclusion who hasn’t raced at headquarters since January.

It's A Rush spent over two months in New South Wales winning races at Wentworth Park and Richmond, building a resume that co-trainer Justin Bowe believes is as good as anyone over the period.

“He was racing at a high level down in New South Wales and coming up against Group level dogs week in week out, culminating in the Richmond Derby Final and Golden Easter Egg heats, which really gave him the belief he could race with anyone,” Bowe said.

Bowe said that newfound swagger has shone through since his return to Queensland in late April, with a trip to Rockhampton the beginning of a current three-race winning streak.

“The Rockhampton Cup was always going to be a big ask he’d been down south for the best part of two months, and we threw him straight back in the deep end,” he said.

“He didn’t take a backward step, from box seven in his heat he ran behind the eventual winner and runner-up of the Cup (Orchestrate, Mitchell Street) and hit the line really hard.

“The way he finished off convinced us to stay another week for the consolation which he was good enough to win from another tricky draw in the five.”

Five days later, the dog was on the road again - this time to Bundaberg for a more familiar run over the 550 metres, but the kennel came away with more than they bargained for.

“Those two runs at Rocky really re-acclimatised him to the Queensland conditions and having had experience at Bundaberg before we thought he’d go well in the TAB Anniversary Cup but weren’t expecting to walk away with a track record,” Bowe said.

“He had box six and being a longer run to the first turn we were hoping to be near the lead, but once he flew the lids and landed on the bunny you knew it would be good time.

“To be the first dog to break 31 seconds (30.96) is something to be proud of, even if they get his record one day, he’ll always be the first to hit that mark.”

The dog was set to make his long-awaited return to the famous creek last Monday, until a last-minute scare which only pushed his next win back a few days.

“Because he’s so well-travelled he’s got a lot of grades up his sleeve at Albion Park and we were set to race him there last Monday night, but he got some kind of spider bite in the kennels and his leg swelled right up,” Bowe said.

“It came down pretty quickly and he was right to go in a few days’ time, we wanted to give him a run the only race we could find was over the 431 at Ipswich on Saturday.

“Given his history with box manners it probably wasn’t ideal, but he showed us just how well he was going jumping to the front and running 24.97.”

After being named in the Origin squad, you could forgive the kennel for simply racing him in Fifth Grade company on a Thursday night, but constantly scheming they hope his next win is in New South Wales.

“We’re on our way down to Gunnedah to trial him ahead of the Gunnedah Cup heats oN Sunday, which is the next target we have him pegged for,” Bowe said.

“We try to place him where he has the best chance of winning and if that means thinking outside the box and doing a few miles in the car that’s no worries.

“There should be two heats Sunday and as long as he trials okay today, the way he’s going I’d say he’s a pretty good chance of doing some damage over their 527-metre circuit.”

Bowe said the Origin nod let the kennel know the dog's form wasn’t going unnoticed and hoped their alternate route could be a difference maker.

“It was good to see the selectors had looked at dogs like him who’ve been racing well away from Albion Park for the State of Origin squad,” Bowe said.

“If all goes to plan, we’ve got a heat and a final down at Gunnedah the next two weeks, and I’d like to think if his form continues to stack up, he’d get some serious consideration for selection.

“He might not have raced at Albion Park for a while, but you only have to look at the dogs he’s beaten and mixed it with over the past couple of months to know he’d be up to it.”

A parochial Queenslander, Bowe is a huge fan of the Origin concept and would be honoured to represent the Maroons.

“Anyone who knows our family is aware that rugby league and supporting Queensland is right up there alongside training dogs, it’d be pretty special if we were able to combine the two with an Origin selection,” he said. 

“All he can do is keep winning and make it impossible to ignore him, I know he’s the kind of dog who’d lift to that level.

“He’s probably one of the only dogs in the Queensland squad who has race experience against some of the top line New South Wales chasers who’ll be there on sprint night.”