Nationals away trip the perfect tonic for Duffman and Cutlack

By Pat McLeod

Jedda Cutlack is hoping the unwanted weight of expectation on her young sprinter Duffman evaporates across the upcoming Nationals series.

Duffman has drawn the pink on Thursday night in one of two heats of the Queensland Sprint Championship over 520 metres at Albion Park.

The first four runners in both five-dog heats will progress through to next week’s Final, with the winner earning the right to represent Queensland in The Nationals at Adelaide’s Angle Park on August 24.

“Box eight isn’t great, but hopefully he can get across alright from there,” Cutlack said.

“He just needs to beat one dog to get through to the Final.

“This isn't the hardest series he has been in and I'm not being disrespectful to the other dogs.

"They are all good dogs, but he (Duffman) has been in some hard races recently.”

Some luck, and success, in the Nationals would be a welcome tonic for both Duffman and Cutlack.

The Sh Avatar and She's Some Gal chaser set the world on fire early in his career.

He was unbeaten in his first three starts, culminating in victory in the $75,000-to-the-winner Vince Curry Memorial Maiden at Ipswich.

But, early success comes at a price.

“I believe it is always difficult for a dog, the expectations that are put on them when they start their careers on a real high such as Duffman did by winning the Vince Curry,” Cutlack says.

“He could not have started his career any better.

“So, it is understandable to get frustrated when he is not going around winning everything. But, then you look and see what he has actually done in such a short amount of time - 21 starts for just over $140,000 in prize money.

“That's not bad in anyone's books. I think he is just about $40,000 short of my highest earners and they were racing for two and a half years. Before the recent Ipswich Young Guns heat win it had been a few months since he had won a race.

“He had been racing OK, but when you're not winning it doesn't feel like you are racing well. I know he still has some nice race wins left in him. He is a very good dog.

“But, having said that, he should not have anything left to prove because he has done so well already.”

Cutlack says she would be rapt if The Nationals was a very successful series for Duffman.

“I would love to go to Adelaide,” she says enthusiastically.

“I would be very happy to have a little holiday away with him in Adelaide. I think it would be a good experience for him. Generally, I like travelling with dogs because I believe it is good for them.

“Whether he handles the trip OK, who knows. Some dogs do, some dogs don't. But, even if they don't handle travel well, I believe it is good for them to have that experience of travelling away.

“We all know that Duffman loves Ipswich and it would be nice to replicate that form in the city. It is worth remembering, he won his novice at Albion Park in 29.83 seconds. 

“So, it is not as though he doesn't like Albion, he just seems to struggle a little bit more there than he does at Ipswich.

“Who knows, he may get through, go to Angle Park and handle it really well.”

Travis Elson will campaign last year’s Queensland Nationals sprint representative, Bear’s Bullet, in Thursday night’s heats.

He also has three of his Fernando Bale and Nan's Magic litter mates in the heats – Speed Zone, Super Scrub and Danger Zone.

Another highlight on Thursday night’s card will be the clash of distance stars Valpolicella (trained by Tony Zammit) and Icy Eyes (Selena Zammit) in a 710 metre Queensland Distance Prelude, which will lead into next week’s state Final.