Waikarie Bell wows ahead of Listed Carnival Chase

By Isaac Murphy

Last week’s 600-metre Free For All was the talk of the town, with Sequana, Ava Wine and Pump It demanding the limelight on the eve of the Listed Carnival Chase over the middle-distance.

It would be Sequana who’d emerge victorious on the night, but there were various winners out of the race including Waikarie Bell’s trainer Karen Kleinhans, tickled pink with her stayer’s return to the track as she ate up the ground late for third place.

“I was rapt with the run last week; first-up for a couple of months she went straight in against the best of the best and for her to run into third like she did was just the kind of sign I was looking for fresh,” Kleinhans said.

“She’s jumping out of her skin to race tomorrow night, the only question is will she handle the draw (6) with her get back run on style.

“She’ll be finishing stronger than all of them and with four going through from each heat I’d be hoping she can find her way to the fence and charge home again.

“She’s been involved in some high-profile races over the 700, but it’d be a real thrill to get through to a Listed final over the 600 metres which is not necessarily her pet trip.”

Waikarie Bell has come from the clouds to make for some thrilling finishes over her career, always bringing home a cheque even if she doesn’t win.

“Whether it’s over the five, six or seven, when she comes past those 600-metre boxes the final time something just clicks in her head and she goes into overdrive,” Kleinhans said.

“The problem obviously is a lot of the time she’s too far back to win and runs a lot of good-looking placings, but we’ve seen when everything’s in her favour she’s competitive against anyone.

“You can knock her winning strike rate, but she’s a Fifth Grade bitch taking on Open company and has finished third, second and second her last three starts in that grade.”

Waikarie Bell is the apple of Kleinhans’ eye, given no chance at break in, she’s taking the trainer on a cracking ride.

“When she was broken in, I was told she might be able to run the 500 metres and if not, we should think about taking her to the Greyhound Adoption Program,” she said.

“To sit here now as a Free For All winner over the 700 metres with over $60,000 is incredible - she’s blown me away.

“Her Brad Hill Billy/Waikarie Magic litter mates have predominantly raced over the 395 metres, with a couple able to just stretch up to the 520 - she’s one of a kind.”

It didn’t take Kleinhans long to realise the bitch wanted further and she was lucky enough to find some suitable races, but thinks more can be done for young stayers.

“I think she’s a real advert to get more distance races for younger dogs, she was lucky and was able to knock off her maiden and novice and get up in distance fairly quickly, but you see a lot of young stayers to be struggling to find winnable races,” she said.

“The making of her were the restricted win 630-metre races at Ipswich, she found her confidence there and was able to carry that to the 700 at Albion.

“We’d love to go back to Ipswich with her but unfortunately we just don’t have the races over the 630 for well-graded stayers.”

Turning four in December, Waikarie Bell is closer to the end than the start, but with breeding plans and another young bitch on her way up, Kleinhans is optimistic about the future.

“This is probably her last chance at races like the Dashing Corsair, Origin Stayers, Super Stayers and Queensland Cup; the Listed Carnival Chase is the perfect lead in, and we’ve just got to hope for the best,” she said.

“She doesn’t owe me anything, she’s far exceeded any expectations I’ve had of her, if she manages to pull off some results in the next couple of months that’ll be a bonus.

“I can’t wait to get her to the breeding barn and produce the next generation, in the meantime I’ve got It’s Only Me who’s just won her novice and is headed in a similar direction to her.”