Fernando Bale has stamped his authority on seemingly every major sprint race in Australia this year.
Within the last few months he’s convinced many that he’s the best greyhound in Australia, and if he can win the time-honoured Peter Mosman at Wentworth Park on Saturday night, I might be tempted to say he’s the best I’ve seen.
The Peter Mosman is one of the historic greyhound races, first run in 1952 at the old, expansive Harold Park track. My memories of the track are a little vague, I remember you used to lose sight of the greyhounds when they ran under the bridge that provided access to the infield car park, but the one-turn 457m track used to sort out the good ones.
If he can win again on Saturday night, where would that place Fernando Bale?
Looking at winner’s list, there are some big names that Fernando Bale could join, but two names that stand out are the 1985 and 1982 winners, Brother Fox and Promises Free. No greyhound has had a greater influence on this race than Brother Fox, whose first son to win the race was Farmer Wilson in 1991.
Since then only three winners, Patchtime, Tap Dance and Solve the Puzzle, were not direct descendants of Brother Fox, and every winner since 1999 has a bit of Brother Fox DNA.
In 1986 though, Brother Fox whelped arguably his greatest litter with Promises Free. This litter included legendary sires Amerigo Man, West Cape and Walkabout Sid. Thirteen winners of the Peter Mosman are descendants from this litter, with How’s the Fort, a son of West Cape, the first with the DNA of both Brother Fox and Promises Free to win in 1992.
So even if Fernando Bale were to win, we won’t know for 20 years if he’ll be able to stamp his name on the race in the same way that Brother Fox did. He showed his versatility last week, coming from off the speed after being led at the first turn.
There is a little more speed in the race than he faced in the Golden Easter Egg and he’s drawn a little awkwardly in four, outside his litter sister Elfen Bale. His kennelmate Dyna Double One produced an enormous run in the semi-finals last week. All in all, it should be an intriguing event to watch.
Also on the card will be the GBOTA sprint and stayers final. We’d set our little stayer Folk Tails for the race, but she had a minor setback and it takes a while to get the fitness back into them to make 720m. Her litter sister Booster Valve made the final, but she’ll have her work cut out to turn the tables on Irinka Layla, who was dominant last week.
There’s also a Bullriding competition and auction at Wentworth Park on Saturday night to raise money for a 6 year old named Jake with Neuroblastoma, full details are here.
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