A brilliant race track return a fortnight ago should see Dash Dosh start a hot favourite and return to the winner’s circle in the Check Out Harnesslink Handicap Trot at Addington this Friday night.
Last season’s Woodlands Stud NZ Trotting Oaks winner made up a stack of ground in the Group 3 Yabby Dam/Heather Williams Memorial behind Eurostyle, her stunning late burst to grab fourth not going unnoticed. While she hasn’t had a great deal of experience from a standing start, she has been a winner from the stand before, with five of her six wins coming at Addington. A 20-metre handicap alongside Franco Josiah should see her settle comfortably near the leaders, with trainer Tom Bagrie and connections already eyeing a Brisbane campaign next month – including the A$150,000 Great Square on 4 July.
Standing in her way this week are the well-performed Julie Jaccka (10m), a previous Addington winner, and a newcomer to the Bob Butt barn in Zoltan Boscik. The trotter had looked capable of progressing to open company when trained by Jeff and Luke Whittaker, and a change of scenery combined with straight-line beach work may prove the catalyst to get him back on that path. Drawing off the front, his driver will no doubt be looking to make the most of that advantage over his main rivals.
Others with strong winning claims this week include the smart mare Cinderella Franco (Race 7) and Diamond Racing-trained Scrunch (Race 9). The former has had a freshening break after running second to Dynasty in early May, while Scrunch finished third behind the impressive Seeking Clarity on his first run back since performing well at the NZ Cup meeting.